My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it

 

 "No one, when he has lit a lamp, covers it with a vessel or puts it under a bed, but sets it on a lampstand, that those who enter may see the light.  For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light.  Therefore take heed how you hear.  For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him."  

 

Then His mother and brothers came to Him, and could not approach Him because of the crowd.  And it was told Him by some, who said, "Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see You."   But He answered and said to them, "My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it."

 

Now it happened, on a certain day, that He got into a boat with His disciples.  And He said to them, "Let us cross over to the other side of the  lake."  And they launched out.  But as they sailed He fell asleep.  And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water, and were in jeopardy.  And they came to Him and awoke Him, saying, "Master, Master, we are perishing!  Then He arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water.  And they ceased, and there was a calm.  But He said to them, "Where is your faith?"  And they were afraid, and marveled, saying to one another, "Who can this be?  For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him!"

 

- Luke 8:16-25 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus went through every city and village, preaching and bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God.  And the twelve were with Him, and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities -- Mary called Magdalene, out of whom had come seven demons, and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others who provided for Him from their substance. And when a great multitude had gathered, and they had come to Him from every city, He spoke by a parable:  "A sower went out to sow his seed.  And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it.  Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture.  And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it.  But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold."  When He had said these things He cried, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" Then His disciples asked Him, saying, "What does this parable mean?"  And He said, "To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that 'Seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.'  Now the parable is this:  The seed is the word of God.  Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.  But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away.  Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity.  But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience."

 

  "No one, when he has lit a lamp, covers it with a vessel or puts it under a bed, but sets it on a lampstand, that those who enter may see the light.  For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light.  Therefore take heed how you hear.  For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him."  Continued from Christ's teaching of the parable of the Sower in yesterday's reading (see above), Jesus uses the image of light for God's word.  According Origen, the lampstand is the Church.  But even with this metaphor of light and a lamp that shines outward and illumines what is around itself, Jesus gives a warning about "how you hear."  Again, this is an emphasis on spiritual "ears to hear."  Once the seeds of Christ's word are planted, growth and expansion follows, a living of that word follows.  It is meant to illuminate, to shine outwardly.  Again, in yesterday's reading, He spoke of parables as those things meant to illuminate the mysteries of God, but only to those who are prepared to accept, to "hear."  Thus, He says, "Therefore take heed how you hear.  For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him."

 

Then His mother and brothers came to Him, and could not approach Him because of the crowd.  And it was told Him by some, who said, "Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see You."   But He answered and said to them, "My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it."  According to the Orthodox Study Bible, it was not Christ's will to deny His mother and brothers.  Rather, as St. John Chrysostom comments, Jesus is correcting both them and His hearers "to the right idea concerning Himself," that the family of His Kingdom "is not by nature but by virtue."  See also Luke 11:27-28.  Again, St. Luke's Gospel is reporting Jesus' teachings on hearing and doing of the word of God.  

 

Now it happened, on a certain day, that He got into a boat with His disciples.  And He said to them, "Let us cross over to the other side of the  lake."  And they launched out.  But as they sailed He fell asleep.  And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water, and were in jeopardy.  And they came to Him and awoke Him, saying, "Master, Master, we are perishing!  Then He arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water.  And they ceased, and there was a calm.  But He said to them, "Where is your faith?"  And they were afraid, and marveled, saying to one another, "Who can this be?  For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him!"   The Orthodox Study Bible states that Christ deliberately permits the windstorm to arise while He is sleeping in order to perfect the disciples' faith and rebuke their weaknesses, so they would eventually be unshaken by life's temptations.  Here in this stage of their discipleship, their faith is still mixed with unbelief.  The Study Bible notes that they showed faith when they came to Him, but unbelief when they said, "We are perishing."

 

The "word of God" plays through our readings as a common thread, linking different metaphors, and also varied events.  We began this chapter of St. Luke's Gospel with the parable of the Sower.  Jesus explained that the seeds of the Sower are the word of God, indicating that He is the Sower who gives the word to all.  This parable, and its explanation to the disciples, was followed by Christ's teaching on the lamp that must be set on a lampstand.  It is positioned as a continuing teaching to the disciples, to whom He has just explained not only His parable but the reason why He speaks to the great crowds now in parables.  People must be prepared to hear with spiritual eyes and ears, after the language of the prophets (such as in Ezekiel 12:2, for example).  But the disciples, as He said, are those to whom "it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God."  And so, He speaks plainly to them.  But they are also those who will carry that word, those seeds, out into the world as apostles.  With the metaphor of light and a lampstand, Jesus teaches that this word must be like a light that shines to the world, not kept hidden.  This is so that "those who enter may see the light."  Those entering into the Church, whose hearts are opened to the kingdom of God are the ones who need the light to be shown, for their own illumination.  What is the point of these teachings, the word of God, except that it be made available to those "with ears to hear?"  In St. Matthew's reporting of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus extends the metaphor of light to Christ's disciples themselves, teaching, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."  This letting one's light shine is the hearing and doing of the word of God.  It is powerfully this to which Jesus refers in today's reading when He states, "My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it."  Finally, we come to the consideration of the last story in our lectionary reading today, of Jesus and the disciples in a boat on the Sea of Galilee.  Jesus shows His humanity in that He falls asleep, necessary for human survival.  But He remains also fully divine, and His command, "Let us cross over to the other side of the lake" is, in effect, the word of God.  It should be understood also that Jesus Himself is the Word, the Logos, of God (John 1:1).  Since among the disciples are prominently seasoned fishermen whose home is on the Sea of Galilee, we should understand how truly life-threatening this storm appeared.  But it is appropriate in the thread of the Gospel stories which teach us about the word of God that this should be their experience.  For it teaches us that to hear and do the word of God is no easy or simple task.  We will not always be rewarded with easy lives, or great success, by whatever definition we understand such things.  In short, it takes courage to live this life, and the disciples are being prepared for what they will undertake.  Once again, we turn to the Sermon on the Mount, in which Jesus taught us Himself, "Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it" (see Matthew 7:13-14).  Many of the stories in the Gospels illustrate this truth, and the persecutions of the early Church (reflected in the rest of the New Testament) affirm it.  Therefore, we who would also be disciples of Christ must reconcile ourselves to this fact of our lives, and our ongoing journey of faith, His "Way."  Our struggles may seem different in a modern world from those of the past, but nonetheless, Jesus' teachings remain true for us as well.