Homily for Tuesday of the 25th Week in Ordinary Time

Responding to those informing Him that family members were looking for Him, Jesus said that His real family "are those who hear the Word of God and act on it." Jesus wants to relate to us as His family. He calls us His brothers and sisters and wants us to belong to His spiritual family. The way to become His family is straightforward: we need to hear the Word of God and put it into practice in our everyday lives.

Throughout His life and ministry, Jesus focused on the Word of God and the will of God. He heard that Word so thoroughly that it shaped everything He said and did. John's Gospel even calls Jesus the Word made flesh. (John 1:14)

As Christians, we are called to hear God's Word and act on it in everything we say and do. Like the seed that fell on rich soil, we must take the Word to our deepest selves and yield an abundant harvest. (Matthew 13:18) If we listen to God's Word and let it shape us and our lives, then we are brothers and sisters to Jesus, our LORD. +