Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 8, 19-21
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.”
Your brothers
1. Your mother and your brothers. Perhaps this may seem a bit shocking to you at first and even make you doubt. Did Mary have other children? It’s good to ask this question, as it means doing some research. In Jesus’s times blood relatives were referred to with the term “brothers”. That’s why the gospel doesn’t say “Mary and her children” but “your mother and your brothers”. Remember in those days the term “cousins” was not used. Do some research and find out how wonderful the Bible is. September is Bible month. Make the most of it, get to know it better. Discover Mary and discover her from within the Bible.
2. The will. To do God’s will, you must first listen to his voice within you and look at yourself through his eyes. There must be a familiarity with the Lord in order to fulfil his will. Find Jesus, He is a person who is more alive than ever. He speaks to you and invites you to do great things with him. Doing his will makes you free and joyful, God gives you happiness. A sign that you are doing his will is that you feel joyous and peaceful. This, of course, comes as a result of prayer.
3. Mary. This gospel does not question Mary, on the contrary, it praises Her. Who else is like Mary? There is no creature more closely united to God, she declared herself the Lord’s handmaid. At some point of the day, imagine her breastfeeding her son. What a lovely image! Imagine her caring for baby Jesus or looking after Jesus as a little boy, together with Joseph. Then imagine Mary at the foot of the cross. If we reflected on her life, we would stand back in amazement. Let’s try hard, do our best to do God’s will. We are family – you help me, and I help you. Let’s pray for one another. Please pray for me, I need your prayers.
Don’t forget that something good is on the way!
God bless you and be with you in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
