Hear And Act
The mother of Jesus and his brothers came to him
but were unable to join him because of the crowd.
He was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside
and they wish to see you.”
He said to them in reply, “My mother and my brothers
are those who hear the word of God and act on it.” (Lk 8:19-21)
Jesus was very popular among many of the people as He made His way from town to town. Some people came to see Him because He worked great miracles. Others would want to see Him because of the words that He spoke. Still others were there to try to trick Him into saying something that they could use against Him. No matter what the reason, though, He drew large crowds.
On one of those occasions, someone told Him that His relatives had gathered outside.
Jesus’ response probably took many people aback yet, at the same time, gives us great reason to hope and have joy. Jesus indicated that anyone was a relation to Him as long as they heard the word of God and acted upon it.
We hear the word of God daily. We hear it proclaimed at Mass. We hear it in the voice of the poor. We hear it in the cry of the baby. We hear it in the plea of the needy.
How will we act upon it?
FAITH ACTION: As you pray in preparation for your day, ask God to open your ears to His word so that you may know how to respond.