Gal 3:22-29 ; Ps 105:2-7; Lk 11:27-28
Abraham heard the Word of God and observed it. When we hear and obey, we are the descendants of Abraham. The LORD made a covenant with Abraham; he promised him countless descendants. We are among those countless descendants. We join with our ancestors who chanted the words of Psalm 105. We sing to the LORD; we praise his Name; we proclaim all his wondrous deeds. With hearts that seek the LORD, we journey through life depending on his strength and seeking to serve him constantly. His wondrous deeds, his great signs, and his judgments, all delight our hearts and confirm our souls in his love and mercy. Our faith makes us descendants of Abraham; it makes us servants of the LORD. Indeed, we are the sons and daughters of Jacob; we are his chosen ones. Indeed, the LORD is our God, and there is no other. His judgments prevail. Indeed, they are right and true; the source of wisdom. Saint Paul instructs the Galatians that their faith in God through, in, and with Christ makes them the heirs of the promise given to Abraham. We too share in this promise; we too are heirs. Even the Lord Jesus blesses us, his family of faith, because we hear and respond to the word of God. This is the Word we hear at every Liturgy; this is the Word Made Flesh that we receive in the body and blood of the Eucharist. This is the Word that makes us new and gives us life eternal.
What does it mean to be confined under the power of sin? What is the power of sin? The only power sin has is to separate us from the “One who first loved us.” Sin is our rejection of our acceptance by the LORD. Now that we believe in the power of Christ to take on sin and to overcome sin, we are children of God in Christ Jesus. Before faith we were under the tutelage of the law. Indeed, before the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ we were under the disciplinarian, we were under the law so that we might be justified by faith. The law helped us to prepare our hearts for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the instruction of the Divine Teacher. The law gave us a dim and inadequate way to approach the full mystery of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Now that faith has come and we have been baptized into Christ; we have clothed ourselves with Christ. His glory reveals the mystery of who we are: we are all children of God in Jesus Christ. No longer can we fully express the mystery of our own identity with as Jew or Greek. We are no longer just slave or free. We are not even limited or exalted by being either male or female. Indeed, we are all one in the Lord Jesus Christ, and it is his identity that is revealed in the mystery of who we are and whose we are. We belong to the Father, and in the power of the Holy Spirit the identity of Christ is transforming us from glory to glory. Indeed the promises to Abraham are being fulfilled in our lives and throughout the world.
So often people from the crowd have spoken up and been addressed by the Lord Jesus. Several men have voiced their desire to follow the Lord, but they were not well informed about the sacrifices. His strong opponents: the scribes, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the scholars of the law have all challenged him, but he has always given them a new perspective. Even, demons have shouted out, “We know who you are!” but he did not let them give any testimony. Now we hear from a woman; she speaks from out of the crowd. She seems to know what it is like to be a mother and to share life so intimately with a child in the womb and taking nourishment at the breasts. She calls forth a blessing on the Mother of the Lord Jesus. In response the Lord Jesus reveals the true blessing of being his Mother when he says, “Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.” In this blessing we can all share as we grow in faith and come to make his presence known in our own families and in the family of faith we call Church. Indeed, this is the joy of our salvation to proclaim the Gospel by our lives and even by our words when necessary.
