September 26, 2017

Gospel: Lk 8:19-21
Then his mother and his relatives came to him; but they could not get to him because of the crowd. Someone told him, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside and wish to meet you.“ Then Jesus answered, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.“

REFLECTION:
A story goes thus: A parish community renovated its church and dedicated it to the Mother of God. It was a billion-dollar architectural marvel. One day, an old lady, a faithful parishioner, was praying before the statue of Mother Mary inside the church. Suddenly, Mother Mary appeared to her and said, “Please ask your pastor to build a church in my honor.“ “Where, Mother?“ the lady asked in fear and trembling. “Right here,“ the Mother said, and disappeared.
The Book of Ezra describes how the Temple of the Lord was re-built and consecrated. But such an external structure is not the primary temple of God. Paul asks rhetorically: “Don‘t you know that you yourselves are God‘s temple?“ (1 Cor 3:16). Jesus teaches the Samaritan woman: “Time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks“ (Jn 4:23). Thus, the true temple of God is a community of believers who hear the word of God and keep it. They become God‘s temple and therefore, the family of Jesus.