Bible reading: Galatians 3:22-29; Psalm 105; Luke 11:27-28
In today’s Gospel, a woman observed Jesus – how He lived and the things He was doing. She could not hide her impression and with a loud cry, she blessed the womb that bore Jesus.
In the same way that a woman blessed the womb that bore Christ, people should be able to look at us, see how we live and what we do and bless not just the womb that bore us but the God we serve.
The question is:
Do I live in such a way that I bring honour to my earthly family, joy to my heavenly family and glory to my Father in heaven?
As a case study, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, even though in a strange land and amidst a very critical condition, brought king Nebuchadnezzar to bless the name of their God (Daniel 3:28).
In the response of Jesus and in the First Reading of today, we have insights into how we can bring honour to the name of God.
I. In the Gospel, Jesus replied to the woman that His mother was blessed not just by giving birth to Him but by hearing and keeping God’s Word. Everyone who hears and keeps God’s Word is blessed and such will bring honour to God. Living according to God’s Word honours God.
II. In the First Reading, St. Paul highlights another way of bringing honour to God, which is by clothing ourselves daily with Christ. In Baptism, we have all put on Christ but this is not a once and for all thing. We must make an effort to put Him on daily.
To put on Christ means to have the character of Christ, to listen to Him, to do what He says, to become like Him to others through imitation of His character (humility, love, forgiveness, compassion and kindness), to be a reminder of Him to others, to make Him visible to others through how we live and what we say.
When we live like this, people cannot but bless Christ in us and bless the God that we serve.
May the Lord give us a spirit of attentiveness and obedience to God’s Word and may we receive the grace to put on Christ every day and to remove what is incongruent with His identity.
Sermon preached by Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Baraka-Gukena Okami on October 8, 2022.