Gospel: Luke 8: 19-21
As Christians we take it as axiomatic that Jesus is the Word of God come into the world, though this has not prevented us from following other words alien to him. Nevertheless Jesus is the ideal for us to follow and imitate in our lives. So, when Jesus exhorts the crowd in today's Gospel portion that it is those who hear the word of God and act upon it, we are to hear in those words the injunction to follow the Lord Jesus and act upon what he says.
Throughout the Gospels when people were curious about the work of Jesus, he would invite them to come and see, and what they saw was Jesus going about healing people of their infirmities, liberating them from the demons that plague them, and feeding people at table. Once we have seen, Jesus then invites us to follow him, i.e. to take up these works of mercy ourselves in our daily lives, finding opportunities to heal, liberate, and feed others.
There are no shortages of places where this work of Jesus is desperately needed. While one group of Christians sets about to build an empire while another engages in revolution, the work of mercy for those who are hungry, ill, thirsty, possessed, naked, homeless, imprisoned, and marginalized remains ever in need of care. Jesus did not serve as chaplain to empire or revolution. He set about providing mercy for all in need. That is our call and task as well.
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