I went to the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) office in Cagayan de Oro. Many people lined up for documents they needed to work abroad legally. I had to get a number and wait for a staff to process my papers. The heat, the crowd, and the long process didn’t stop me from getting what I needed.

Crowds can be hurdles. They can be trials you need to overcome. They can be any number of things that could prevent you from achieving your desired end. But if you’re desperate enough, no crowd is thick enough to stop you from persevering. It really depends on you.

On the flip side, crowds can also be God’s way of saying, “No, not this. Try another.” Crowds can be His way of redirecting you, of showing you a way out, of giving a sign of His guidance. This, too, depends on you, for in both instances, you need to listen and recognize His leading.

Are the crowds in your life something you need to overcome, or to avoid altogether? Listen, then obey. Only those who do His will are His relatives. Joyce Roa (jsosoban@gmail.com)

reflect

What type of “crowd” do you have in your life right now?

Lord, grant me the wisdom to know and follow Your will in my life.

Sts. Andrew Kim Taegon, Paul Chong Hasang, and companions, pray for us.

Let us reflect on the last saying presented in the reading today. If we fail to hear the cry of the poor, then our cries will not also be heard when we stand before God. He will never reward hypocrisy. If we want to have access to the wealth of His blessings, then we need to share our blessings to those who need it.

¹ Like a stream is the king’s heart in the hand of the Lord; wherever it pleases him, he directs it. 2 All the ways of a man may be right in his own eyes, but it is the Lord who proves hearts. ³ To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice. ⁴ Haughty eyes and a proud heart—the tillage of the wicked is sin. ⁵ The plans of the diligent are sure of profit, but all rash haste leads certainly to poverty. 6 Whoever makes a fortune by a lying tongue is chasing a bubble over deadly snares. ¹⁰ The soul of the wicked man desires evil; his neighbor finds no pity in his eyes. ¹¹ When the arrogant man is punished, the simple are the wiser; when the wise man is instructed, he gains knowledge. ¹² The just man appraises the house of the wicked: there is one who brings down the wicked to ruin. ¹³ He who shuts his ear to the cry of the poor will himself also call and not be heard.

Responsorial Psalm | Psalm 119:1, 27, 30, 34, 35, 44

R: Guide me, Lord, in the way of your commands.

¹ Blessed are they whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord. (R) ²⁷ Make me understand the way of your precepts, and I will meditate on your wondrous deeds. (R) ³⁰ The way of truth I have chosen; I have set your ordinances before me. (R) ³⁴ Give me discernment that I may observe your law and keep it with all my heart. (R) ³⁵ Lead me in the path of your commands, for in it I delight. (R) ⁴⁴ And I will keep your law continually, forever and ever. (R)

Gospel | Luke 8:19-21

Today’s Gospel has the same point as the First Reading. Let us be careful to take its message seriously and ensure that we are living in a way that is expected of someone who has received the gift of salvation. Jesus reminds us in John’s Gospel that people will know we are Christians by the love we have for one another. Let us make sure this is truly the witness of our community.

Gospel Acclamation

Blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.

¹⁹ The mother of Jesus and his brothers came to him but were unable to join him because of the crowd. ²⁰ He was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside and they wish to see you.” ²¹ He said to them in reply, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it.”

Read the Bible in one year! Read JEREMIAH 50 - 52 today.

In the Philippines, we fondly call everyone as “kuya” (older brother), “ate” (older sister), “tito” (uncle), or “tita” (aunt). We use these terms of relationship to address someone older in age, someone we want to be close to, or someone that we do not know but want to show respect to. Strangely, we also use these relational terms to someone who is a complete stranger. So, a Filipino who hears today’s Gospel, where Jesus calls those who hear God’s Word and put it into practice as His mothers and brothers, might think, “No problem, I do that every time.”

But the terms “mother,” “brother,” or “sister” that Jesus refers to in the Gospel go beyond kinship. It goes beyond the sentimental, reverential, or cultural understanding that we have of the terms.

In the Scriptures, “mother/brother/sister” is not simply a matter of being intimate, of being respectful, or of being nice. In the Scriptures, you call someone “mother/brother/sister if he/she is a witness to the Word. A “mother/brother/sister” is one in whose life the Word is made flesh and palpable.

This is why people in the religious life, i.e., people who have consecrated themselves to live the Gospel values, are formally addressed as “Father,” “Mother,” “Brother,” or “Sister.” We address them as such not because we want to be close to them or be respectful of them but because that is their calling—to be sacraments of the Word in the world. And they also mirror to the world the universal vocation of every baptized person to be a “mother/brother/sister” to Jesus by living the challenge of the Word.

And mind you, my friends, being “mother/brother/sister” in the Gospel sense sometimes will require that you become “not nice” to others. Witnessing to God’s Word sometimes necessitates being ready to “hurt” the other by proclaiming to them the truth. And the truth, as we know it, hurts but heals. Fr. Joel O. Jason

reflection question

Witnessing to God’s Word will sometimes make you a “despised” prophet in the world, a sign of contradiction. Do you still want to be a “relative” of Jesus?

Your words, O Lord, are sweeter than honey from the comb. Amen.

Today, I pray for: ________________________________________