The Pulpit Commentary — Luke — Volume 1 — Section 311

?r I he generations who should eall Mary blessed, The an■ wer of Christ ]., 'f'Ory alriking ID respect of- l. THAT WRICH IT IMPLICITLY CONDEMNS. We Pee, in this Incident the germ of Mariolatry. . A natur_al interest in ~he one who had been BO highly favnu~ed grew, and corrupted as 1t grew, into a veneration for her pe!'llon, and the supposed influence of her motherhood. Instead of recognizing the ,sacredness which had been put on mother- hood, and dwelling on the very and real humanity of the Lord, the reverence of the mind was gradually transferred to the image of the woman, ae that rose before the imagination of the na.meless one of the crowd, nursing the babe. And the mother and her motherhood became, like Gi<leon's epbod, a sna.re to the Israel of God. Observe how constantly and expressively Christ bids away from the region of such veneration. His silence as to his mother implicitly condemns it. He recognizes her note.smother but in the title "Woman." His last earthly care was for her, but the'sentence which conveyed it was, " Woman, behold thy Son ! "and to J obn, "Behold thy mother I " And his declinature to allow the praise to pass unche.llenged, his co.II to consider something else as the only legitimate blessedness, confirms the reproof (see the parallels Matt. xii. 46-50; Mark iii. 31-35). "What is the preaching of the Reformatio~ more than the word which the Lord here speaks? In the Council of Trent they heard not that voice, but repelled it with anathema-for a maranatha to themselves" (Stier). I I. THAT WHICH IT OPPOSES TO THE CRY OUT OF THE 0BOWD. Mark the "yea rather." 'l'he woman's saying is not denied, but thought is dirPcted to the only legiti- mate ea.use of bleseedness. 'l'he mothef' herself was blessed because she bad gi·ven herself entirely to the Word of God. She had felt herself the Lord's handmaiden when the salutation came at which she was troubled; and when the Divine Son, even as a Child, spoke, she kept his sayings in her heart. This, then, is singled out as the "yea rather, blessed are they that hear the Word of God, and keep it." It is a word b. ,th or encouragement and of searching. There is a tinge al.most of jealonsy In her who accosts him. One had been selected for the honour which she might have coveted. ··Kay," is the encouragrmcnt, .. this is the honour which thou canst share with her. If she had it not, whilst thou hadst it, she would have no lasting honour, whilst thou wouldst have praise evermore. If thou hast this honour, thon art near me as she is." The 'l"ital question is-What is the relation of the life to the Word of God? To have heard it is well, but there must be both the hearing and the keeping. "He that hath my words, and keepcth them, he it is that loveth me." The only relationships which Christ reco,,.nizes are spiritual relationships. They are the blood-relationships in the family of h~aven. " He stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! " Vere. 29-36.-Truth; the conditions of ita reception, and our responsi1n1ity with regard to it. We are on trial, placed in a scene of conflict between good and evil, aud called to make our election. Our whole life is such an election; every day, every action, goes to complete that solemn probation on which depend issues of unspeakable moment. Such has always been the contention of Christian teachers. There is a hi~lier aspect of life than that. 'l'o say that life is~ Divine edu~a.tion is to give ~he fuller and nobler evnception of God's purpose concernmg us. He .1s not merely testmg us; be is training us, disciplining our character,_seeking to perfect. our moral being. T~is world is his school, and the influences of which we are conscious, the events which mark our days, the varieties in befalling and condition, are the schoolmasters throu:zh which be is stimulating or correcting, guiding or controlling, the natures with which we are endowed. But it is wrong t-0 set this higher, as against the other aspect referred to. The two--that which regards probation and that which regards education-are not opposed. Our part is to refuse the ev~ and to choose the good, and to stand by our choice. In rtspect of this we are on trial. We are called to work out our own salva- tion with fear and trembling. Yet, in all, God is working in us to will and to do; tducating the response of our will to bis, tha;t, as his dear children we may walk bef?re Lim in love. In thia passa"'e the Lord remmds all to whom he speaks of the relat10n uf tbe human mind to tbe t~uth that looks down from heaven. His discourse bears on the test of inward state supplied by the attitude of the mind to the truth, Let us listen LO it 11.i:i reminding us (1) of the 1,roper and chl1racleri6tic force of truth: (2) of 0.e on. xi. 1-54.] TIIE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. LUKE. 315