Daily Reading
First Reading
Galatians 3:22-29
But the scripture has imprisoned all things under the power of sin, so that what was promised through faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.
Now before faith came, we were imprisoned and guarded under the law until faith would be revealed. Therefore the law was our disciplinarian until Christ came, so that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian, for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise.
Psalm
Psalm 105:2-3, 4-5, 6-7
Sing to him, sing praises to him;
tell of all his wonderful works.
Glory in his holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
Seek the Lord and his strength;
seek his presence continually.
Remember the wonderful works he has done,
his miracles, and the judgments he has uttered,
O offspring of his servant Abraham,
children of Jacob, his chosen ones.
He is the Lord our God;
his judgments are in all the earth.
Gospel Reading
Luke 11:27-28
While he was saying this, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts that nursed you!” But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it!”
Reflection
Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus transforms a woman’s blessing of his mother into a blessing of those who obey God’s word. Jesus turned upside down many of the social conventions of his time because he was so concerned with placing the instantiation of the kingdom of God first in the minds of his followers.
Among first-century Jews, the family was of paramount importance. An enthusiastic disciple of Jesus took this for granted when she shouted out, “Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you nursed.” But Jesus dramatically relativizes the family in responding, “Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.”
He is insisting that the new community of the kingdom is more important than even the most revered social system. When we give the family a disproportionate importance, it becomes—in short order—dysfunctional.
Another time, a prospective disciple said that he was willing to follow Jesus but first begged permission to bury his father. But Jesus, having none of it, responded in a manner that undoubtedly scandalized him: “Let the dead bury their dead.” Once again, he was insisting that God’s kingdom is of paramount importance.