Reading 1
Jl 4:12-21
Thus says the LORD:Let the nations bestir themselves and come upto the Valley of Jehoshaphat; For there will I sit in judgment upon all the neighboring nations.
Apply the sickle,for the harvest is ripe;Come and tread,for the wine press is full; The vats overflow, for great is their malice. Crowd upon crowdin the valley of decision; For near is the day of the LORD in the valley of decision.Sun and moon are darkened,and the stars withhold their brightness.The LORD roars from Zion,and from Jerusalem raises his voice; The heavens and the earth quake,but the LORD is a refuge to his people,a stronghold to the children of Israel.
Then shall you know that I, the LORD, am your God, dwelling on Zion, my holy mountain; Jerusalem shall be holy,and strangers shall pass through her no more.And then, on that day, the mountains shall drip new wine,and the hills shall flow with milk; And the channels of Judahshall flow with water: A fountain shall issue from the house of the LORD, to water the Valley of Shittim. Egypt shall be a waste, and Edom a desert waste, Because of violence done to the people of Judah, because they shed innocent blood in their land. But Judah shall abide forever, and Jerusalem for all generations. I will avenge their blood, and not leave it unpunished. The LORD dwells in Zion.
Gospel
Lk 11:27-28
While Jesus was speaking,a woman from the crowd called out and said to him,“Blessed is the womb that carried youand the breasts at which you nursed.”He replied, “Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.”
Meditation:
Luke 11:27-28
Blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it. (Luke 11:28)
Jesus spoke these words in reply to a woman who blessed his mother simply because she had the good fortune of bearing such a wonderful son. And that’s completely understandable. What mother wouldn’t want to have a boy as perfect as Jesus? And truly, Mary is “most blessed … among women” (Luke 1:42).
While Jesus would naturally agree with this woman’s exclamation, he also took the opportunity to tell everyone how they could know God’s blessing in their lives. All they had to do was hear God’s word and try their best to put it into practice.
Like the woman in today’s Gospel, we too can equate being blessed with being lucky. But that’s not how Jesus sees it. For him, being blessed is not a matter of good fortune; it is a matter of being happy and content. It is a matter of finding satisfaction in who we are and what we are doing. And for Jesus, that happens as we follow God’s word, no matter how easy or difficult our lives are.
Consider Jesus’ disciples. They all gave up their homes, their jobs, and their families in order to follow Jesus. Imagine how precarious their lives must have become as they traveled from town to town with him, often without a place to sleep. But because they were growing closer to the Lord and experiencing his power in their lives, they didn’t worry about the cost of discipleship. They were happy because they were learning a new way to live.
God wants to bless all of us. He wants to teach all of us the new way to live—a life submitted to his word, a life characterized by mercy and grace, a life of trust and surrender to him. We don’t have to be perfect to know his blessing. We just have to try. We don’t need to have driven out every sin before we experience the happiness of life with Christ. All we have to do is welcome Jesus into our hearts every morning and try to stay close to him during the day.
“Lord, I choose to follow you. I want my happiness to be rooted in your blessing and your presence. Teach me, Jesus, to say ‘yes’ to you today.”
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