Blessed Like Mary - A Reflection on Luke 11:27-28

 

While he was saying this, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts that nursed you!” But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it!”

I am sure that there were a lot of people who admired the wonderful manner in which Jesus preached and the way in which he worked miracles. I suppose it would have been natural for many, especially women, to think of how proud his mother must be of him. One of them speaks out: “Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you nursed,” she says. And Jesus responds: “Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it." 

It may seem at first reading that Jesus was deflecting the compliment paid to his mother to make a point of his own — that anyone who obeyed the word of God was greater than his mother — but in truth he was inflating the compliment. He was effectively saying that even greater than Mary’s motherly love for him was her obedience to the will of God. We all know what happened to her as a young child. When an angel came to her with the news that she was going to be mother to the Son of God, she accepted God’s will, even though she could not have fully comprehended the enormity of the task given to her. 

“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” (Luke 1:38). It was her obedience to the will of God that saw her becoming mother of Christ. Do you see it now? It is this understanding that will help us realize what a model Mary can be because she was obedient to God in everything. She was the perfect disciple, arguably better than any of the apostles who were stumblers and bumblers. But it isn’t enough to admire Mary; we need to emulate her. 

There is tremendous devotion that many Christians have for Mary, and that’s fine, really, but if we put her on a pedestal, let us not do this so that we put her way beyond our reach. Rather, let it serve as a reminder that we need to be like Mary, with a crown — the crown of life — awaiting us too (see James 1:12 and Revelation 2:10). And the key to being like her is obedience to God. We sometimes forget how little Mary was when the angel appeared to her. Barely into her teens, she showed remarkable courage in accepting God’s will for her life. Most of us are much older, no? So, why then, are we so reluctant to do what God tells us to do?

Is it because we believe it is difficult? It is, but only if we try to do it on our own will. In fact, if we try to do it solely by human effort it is impossible. But if we do it through the grace of God nothing is impossible for us. And this is what Mary did. She was always in grace because she remained in it. Think of grace like a river that is constantly flowing. We can be permanently bathed in it if we remain in the river. But, sadly, we step out of the river onto the shore, away from grace. Let us not do this. Let us remain in the river of grace and be obedient to the word of God. 

And then, as Jesus affirms, we will be blessed.