The word of God creates new families.

“Your mother and your brothers are standing outside and they wish to see you.”  Jesus said to them in reply, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it.” (Luke 8: 20 - 21).

Tuesday 22 September 2020, 25th Week in Ordinary Time.

What is the word of God?
#1. The word of God is the written word of God in the Sacred Scriptures.
#2. The word of God is decrees of God through the Sacred Tradition.
#3. The living word of God comes to us through the living and Sacred Magisterium, that is the teaching authority of the Church.

In the Scriptures, the word of God is also called the promise, will, command, precepts, ordinances law and decrees of God. Psalm 119, our Responsorial Psalm for today (the longest chapter in the Bible) is a beautiful hymn to the wonders of the word of God.

In the Gospel for today, Jesus teaches that those who hear the word of God and observe it belong to a new family. It is a new family where blood is thicker than water. Jesus gives power to those who listen to His voice and accepts His teaching the power to become the children of God.

Do we have an example of where the word of God forms close  and tight families? From the beginning of the Church, this divine teaching of Jesus has been vindicated in the early Christian communities of the Desert Fathers and Mothers. Today we have several religious communities, viz: Benedictines, Dominicans, Franciscans, the Poor Clares, etc. The members of these communities love and cherish one another and are closely knit as a family more than most families in the world.

Can the word of God form a tight human family of father, mother and children? Absolutely. Last Sunday of the year, the Church celebrates the feast of the Holy Family of Mary, Joseph and Jesus and points to this family as example for all families. This is a family created by the word of God and maintained by the word of God till the last.

"Be it done to me according Your word."

Daily Bible Verse @ Seekfirstcommunity.com