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.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
***
***
Saint Augustine once said, “It means more for Mary to have been Christ’s disciple than to have been his mother.”
If you ask any mother, they will tell you that the bond they share with their child is inseparable. They carried their child in their womb; they nursed their child at their breast; they raised, cared for, cried over, and sacrificed in immeasurable ways for them.
And, I’m sure, would do it a thousand times over.
Mary would’ve felt the same about Christ her son. That first Christmas night, as she gave birth to him in a stable and cradled him in her arms; as she fled urgently with him into Egypt; as she looked with fervor for him in Temple; as she stood before his Cross.
And yet, Mary’s relationship to Christ as his disciple is even more important than being his mother.
Here’s why.
***
In today’s Gospel, Luke describes Jesus as standing inside someone’s home. The crowds are so large that Mary and his other relatives cannot get to him.
When someone notifies Jesus that they are outside, he says in reply, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it.”
If Mary were ever to become part of Christ’s divine family – the new, eternal family he came to save – then she, like all of us, would have to choose to follow him.
Of course, she does from the moment the angel appears to her, when she says, “Let it be done unto me according to your word.” Her docility to God is why we venerate her.
***
You and I have the same opportunity as Mary – to be a brother or sister of Christ. The sole requirement is that we hear his Word… and act on it.
How might we as a Church – and a parish family – better experience this bond as brothers and sisters by acting on his word?
***
Do what any other family member would do – love, pray for, visit, break bread, and welcome all as Christ.
Jesus said to the crowd: “No one who lights a lamp conceals it with a vessel or sets it under a bed; rather, he places it on a lampstand so that those who enter may see the light. For there is nothing hidden that will not become visible, and nothing secret that will not be known and come to light. Take care, then, how you hear. To anyone who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he seems to have will be taken away.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
***
***
Imagine life without light.
If you opened your fridge, you’d struggle to find the milk.
If you came to Mass, the church would be dark.
If you drove at night, the roads would be hauntingly black.
***
Light is essential to how we live our lives. But different size light bulbs are needed for different purposes.
In your fridge, a 40-watt bulb is perfect.
In a church, you need bigger bulbs.
At night, you need even larger ones to brighten our streets.
Each bulb serves the same purpose: to cast out the darkness in their respective place.
***
In a similar way, God has given each of us a purpose in life – a unique way to shine bright, to share our faith, to be the face and voice of Christ.
Priests bring the light of Christ at Mass, in the confessional, in hospitals.
Some of you bring the Eucharist to the homebound; prepare food for the hungry; serve as a catechist; the voice of reconciliation; or love and service to your families at home.
***
How do you light up the world around us?
***
“No one who lights a lamp conceals it with a vessel or sets it under a bed,” Jesus says. “Rather, he places it on a lampstand so that those who enter may see the light.”
Be that light – shine “brightly” – in your corner of the world today.
***
***
Image credits: (1) Presence and Practice (2) Medium (3) Patheos
Jesus said to his disciples, “A rich man had a steward who was reported to him for squandering his property. He summoned him and said, ‘What is this I hear about you? Prepare a full account of your stewardship, because you can no longer be my steward.’ The steward said to himself, ‘What shall I do, now that my master is taking the position of steward away from me? I am not strong enough to dig and I am ashamed to beg. I know what I shall do so that, when I am removed from the stewardship, they may welcome me into their homes.’ He called in his master’s debtors one by one. To the first he said, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ He replied, ‘One hundred measures of olive oil.’ He said to him, ‘Here is your promissory note. Sit down and quickly write one for fifty.’ Then to another the steward said, ‘And you, how much do you owe?’ He replied, ‘One hundred kors of wheat.’ The steward said to him, ‘Here is your promissory note; write one for eighty.’ And the master commended that dishonest steward for acting prudently.
“For the children of this world are more prudent in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light. I tell you, make friends for yourselves with dishonest wealth, so that when it fails, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. The person who is trustworthy in very small matters is also trustworthy in great ones; and the person who is dishonest in very small matters is also dishonest in great ones. If, therefore, you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth, who will trust you with true wealth? If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to another, who will give you what is yours? No servant can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and mammon.”
The Gospel of the Lord
***
***
Countless studies have shown that parenting is stressful. Anyone here who is a parent doesn’t need a study to validate their feelings. All parents worry about the wellbeing of their child.
Parents can struggle with a range of issues from: how to manage their child’s tech and social media intake; to challenges with friends and peer groups; to questions about how scary the world around us can seem, especially with things like war and gun violence.
Adding to the stress of the entire family is the desire to optimize a child’s talents, academic success, and economic future. Sometimes striving for perfection leaves everyone feeling exhausted, burned out, and perpetually behind.
Yet all of this is rooted in the sincere desire to see your child succeed.
It’s a good desire, a holy desire. But this hope for achievement must also be balanced with finding spiritual growth – and thus a lasting foundation.
***
In today’s Gospel, Jesus offers a parable, praising a dishonest steward.
Who was this man? Why would Jesus praise him?
In the ancient world, wealthy landowners would hire a person to be in charge of their entire estate. Often this person was the highest ranking, and most trusted, slave.
Given the slave’s role and responsibilities, he lived with a surprising level of material and social comfort; he would’ve socialized with the wealthy and lived with prestige among his peers.
As a result, some enterprising young freemen would temporarily sell themselves to the wealthy in order to learn from their master, develop business contacts of their own, and chart their future.
Such may have been the case in today’s Gospel.
This shrewd servant has suffered a steep fall from grace, and he realizes his comfortable existence is in trouble; his master is about to fire him. Since he has no estate of his own, he must dig himself out of this hole… and quickly.
So, he devises a plan to have his master’s debts repaid. In doing so, he also lays the groundwork for his future, perhaps landing himself in a more plumb position.
Jesus does not praise him for his conniving ways; rather, he praises him for being shrewd, bold, and determined to save himself.
Qualities which we should apply – not only to our affairs in this world – but also to the spiritual life. Yet, the Lord laments just how infrequent this can be.
“The children of this world,” he says, “are more prudent in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light.”
Meaning, we can invest far more energy in being “successful” than we can in being faithful, holy, or friends with God.
***
For example, it’s easier to scroll through social media than it is to page through the Gospels.
It’s easier to appear well dressed than it is to live virtuously.
It’s easier to fix a broken appliance than it is to fix a broken family.
It’s easier to drum up our grocery list than it is to identify our weaknesses… and work consistently on them.
It’s easier for a pastor to hum along in an active parish than it is to dig deep, to ask the hard questions, and to try to convert souls while expanding the reach of our nets.
Yet, if we had the same determination as that servant in today’s Gospel, then anything would be possible.
***
Herin lies the heart, and real challenge, of today’s Gospel:
Do we put as much effort into our relationship with God as we do into our relationships in this world? Or do we take God for granted, valuing worldly success more than holiness?
How does our answer trickle down into the values of the next generation?
***
We all know that material success never ultimately satisfies us. As Saint Augustine famously said, “Our hearts are restless until they rest in you, O LORD.”
Yet how often we fail to put the Lord first.
It’s only when we become as determined to save our soul as this servant was to save himself that will we ever truly be at peace.
***
***
Image credits: (1) Faith Gateway (2) The Guardian (3) The Jesuits
