Luke 8:19Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

The wise Psalmist instructs us when he states, “I said unto the Lord, Thou art my Lord; because my good things Thou needest not.” If we approach Him with this mindset, He will accept us. Such an offering will be pleasing and cherished—a true spiritual sacrifice—as it is written, “Hath the Lord delight in whole burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in our hearkening to His voice? Behold! to hearken is better than sacrifices; and to listen than the fat of rams.” For obedience and attentiveness to God are the source of all blessings, as the current lesson teaches us. We read of some who approached Christ regarding His holy mother and His brethren, to which He responded, “My mother and My brethren are they who hear the word of God and do it.” Let no one think that Christ dismissed the honor due to His mother or neglected the affection owed to His brethren. He is the same One who spoke the law through Moses, commanding, “Honor thy father and thy mother, that it may be well with thee.” Moreover, how could He reject the love owed to His brethren, when He commanded us to love not only our brothers but even our enemies? As He proclaimed, “Love your enemies.” So what lesson does Christ wish to impart? He seeks to elevate His love for those who willingly submit to His commands, and I will clarify how this is so. The greatest respect and deepest love are naturally owed to our mothers and siblings. Therefore, when He declares that those who listen to His word and act upon it are His mother and brethren, it is evident that He extends a profound and worthy love to those who follow Him. This invitation encourages them to embrace the call to yield to His words and submit to Him through complete obedience. The Lord clearly expresses His delight in such humble hearts through one of His holy prophets, stating, “And on whom shall I look, except upon the humble and meek, and that trembleth at My words?” Just as earthly fathers take pleasure in children who pursue what is good and pleasing to them, so the Almighty God cherishes the obedient and grants mercy to those who diligently heed Him. Conversely, those who are disobedient are cast aside. He reproached the Jews for their wickedness, saying, “A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if I then am a father, where is My honour? and if I am a master, where is My fear? saith the Lord Almighty.” We must either revere the Lord as a master or honor Him as a father—a far greater and nobler task, for perfect love dispels fear. The reality is clear: obedience comes with reward, while disobedience leads to consequences, as God spoke through His holy prophet to those who ignored Him: “Behold, they who serve Me shall eat, but ye shall suffer hunger; behold, they who serve Me shall drink, but ye shall suffer thirst; behold, they who obey Me shall rejoice, but ye shall lament; behold, they who serve Me shall exult in happiness, but ye shall groan, and wail from contrition of your heart.” If we examine the writings of Moses, we see the sorrow that disobedience caused. We were expelled from the paradise of delight and subjected to the penalty of death; we were meant for incorruption, as God intended for creation, yet became accursed and burdened by sin’s yoke. How then did we emerge from such despair, and who came to our aid in this great calamity? It was the Only-begotten Word of God, who willingly shared in our condition, took on human form, and became obedient to the Father even unto death. In this way, the guilt from Adam’s disobedience has been removed; the power of the curse has been broken, and the grasp of death has diminished. Paul affirms this, stating, “For as by the disobedience of the one man, the many became sinners, so by the obedience of the One, the many became righteous.” The entirety of mankind bore guilt through the first man, yet now, through Christ, we are wholly justified. For He is the second beginning for our humanity after the first, making all things in Him new. Paul confirms this, saying, “Therefore every man who is in Christ is a new creation; and the former things have passed away: behold, they have become new.” In His efforts to guide us towards obedience, Christ promises us immense honors and demonstrates the highest love, stating, “My mother and My brethren are those who hear the word of God and do it.” What person, in their right mind, would challenge the honor and love owed to their mother and siblings? The powerful law of nature compels us to such affections, regardless of our will. Thus, when we yield our minds to the Savior's commands and become His followers, we are regarded as His mother and brethren. How does He view us at God's judgment seat? Is it not with kindness and love? There can be no doubt. What honor and goodness are comparable to this? What can equal a gift so splendid and desirable? He invites us to Himself, that where He is, we may also be with Him. He promises, “I will go and make ready a place for you: and return again and take you with Me, that where I am, there ye also may be with Me.” Therefore, servitude is something worthy to aspire to, promising noble honors. This fulfillment is achieved not merely by hearing the words of God but by striving to act upon them. This truth is reaffirmed by one of the holy Apostles: “But become doers of the law, and not hearers only. If any be a hearer of the law and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror. For he has observed himself, and gone away, and immediately forgotten what manner of person he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and acts—not being a forgetful hearer but an active doer—he shall be blessed in his doing.” While the argument already presented serves to persuade those of sound mind, I will further enrich this with the words of the blessed Paul: “For the land that hath drunk in the rain that hath come oft upon it, and bringeth forth the root serviceable for them for whose sake it is tilled, receiveth a blessing from God. But if it bring forth thorns and thistles, it is rejected, and nigh unto cursing: and its end is to be burnt.” Just as rain nourishes the hearts of those who receive the word of spiritual consolation—the sacred doctrine of salvation—those who are wise will yield an abundant harvest of understanding. Conversely, the careless and negligent will fail to attain virtuous recognition, producing thorns instead of grapes. The fate of such negligence is noted in the words of Isaiah: “For the vineyard of the Lord of Hosts is the man of Judah: a plant new and well-beloved: and I looked that it would bring forth grapes, but it brought forth iniquity, and not righteousness, but a cry.” We learn that Israel faced punishment for neglecting the fruitful path pleasing to God, as expressed in His declaration, “But now I will show you what I will do to My vineyard. I will take away its fence, and it shall be wasted; and I will rend its wall, and it shall be trampled underfoot. And I will abandon My vineyard; and it shall not be pruned nor tilled; and thorns shall grow up in it as on waste ground; and I will command the clouds to rain no rain upon it.” It is abundantly clear that God holds no regard for the wicked soul that produces thorns. This soul remains unprotected, vulnerable to the ravages of any who wish to plunder it, a haven for thieves and wild creatures, devoid of any spiritual solace. The absence of rain symbolizes this lack of protection. In these tribulations, the Psalmist lamented on behalf of Israel, crying out to the Lord: “The vine that Thou broughtest out of Egypt, Thou castedst out the nations and plantedst it.” He reflects on how its shade enveloped the mountains and its branches resembled the cedars of God: it spread its branches to the sea and its foliage to the river. He also prayed regarding their plight, asking, “Why hast Thou broken down her hedges, and all the wayfarers pluck her? The boar out of the wood destroyeth her: and the ass of the desert feedeth upon her.” A soul left defenseless and deemed unworthy of divine protection becomes a feeding ground for evil. It is ravaged by Satan and his minions. To avoid such trials, let us submit our minds to Christ, the Savior of all. Let us receive and act upon the Word of God, for if we choose to do so, He will adorn us with exalted honors. He is the Giver of crowns; let all glory and dominion be to God the Father, with the Holy Ghost, forever and ever. Amen.

Thus, those seeking to behold Christ should not remain on the periphery, for the Word is close at hand, in your mouth and in your heart. Within resides the Word, within shines the light! Hence, the prophet invites us: Come to Him and be filled with light. If those who remain outside, even close relatives, are not recognized by Him, perhaps for our own growth, will He acknowledge us if we stay apart?

Let no one consider it a failure of familial duty when the commandment of the law is realized. If a man leaves his father and mother and joins with his wife, becoming one flesh, this divine ordinance is truly upheld in Christ and in the Church. Consequently, relatives should not take precedence over one's own body. Here, the Mother is not cast aside, contrary to what some heretics claim as they seek to ensnare Him—He acknowledged His Mother even while on the cross. The heavenly directives are esteemed above earthly kinship. Moreover, one might interpret that through familial ties, he demonstrated this to the Jews, from whom Christ's humanity is descended.

However, the Lord rejected this underhanded tactic of His adversaries. What need is there to bring up mother and brothers? The Son of Man has a mother and brothers. To the Messiah, those who hear His word and embrace it, carrying within themselves the essence of life, are indeed His mother and His brothers.

In His response, He indicated His faithful disciples, recognizing them as His true mother and brothers. He emphasized that they share a more profound spiritual bond with Him than His earthly relatives, provided that those relatives are also His devoted followers.

However, His mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary, held a different perception; she believed in Him as the Son of God and came not to hinder Him from fulfilling His Father’s will, but rather to ascertain whether the threats mentioned by His supposed brothers were genuine.

And who are My brothers?” Then, pointing to His disciples, He declared, “Here are My mother and My brothers; for whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother,” or as the Evangelist Luke articulates, “My mother and My brothers are those who hear the word of God and put it into practice” (8:21). Through these statements, the Lord did not exclude His earthly mother from the joy of listening to and acting upon the word of God, as she had previously embraced and embodied it more than anyone else. Rather, in accordance with her humility and desire to shun human acclaim, He uplifted and encouraged all who heed and execute the word of God. As Blessed Theophylact notes, He preserved the natural bond of kinship while enriching it through the kinship of virtue.