September 22, 2020

Lk 8: 19-21

Then his mother and his brothers came to him, but they could not reach him because of the crowd. And he was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you.” But he said to them, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.”

New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.

Connection between between word and action

Today’s Gospel invites us to contemplate a very interesting scene. The love of Jesus is what allows us as Christians to radicalize our following of him, but this is only possible when we feel tied to his heart. Jesus tells us that family ties, the strongest ties, are built from listening to the Word and, above all, putting it into practice. Jesus looks at each one of us and invites us to be part of his family. This familiarity will be key in helping us feel compassion towards the most vulnerable, and will lead us to respond to the love of others as Jesus responds to our small and fragile love. This is the opportunity to live knowing that we are children of the Father, and living  out our daily actions according to the Word of the Son.

—Diego Peláez Londoño, SJ, es un escolar jesuita de la provincia de Colombia (COL) y estudiante de filosofía y ciencias sociales en el ITESO, Universidad Jesuita de Guadalajara, México. 

Prayer

You immerse yourself in us

You immerse with us
in the waters of sin,
sharing our death
and staining yourself with mud.
When you emerge from the river
the Jordan has been transformed,
all creation is amazed
your Kingdom is already coming.
You walk with us
you are always by our side,
you are the face of God.
Jesus, friend, brother.

—Translated from a prayer by Javi Montes, SJ