ANSWER TO THE PRIVATE INTERPRETATION OF MY FRIEND LESTER TO LUKE 11:27-28

It was a Sunday afternoon of April 14, 2013 when I received a text messages from my old friend Lester who happened to be a newly convert to Born Again cult from the only Church founded by Jesus the Catholic Church (Mt 16:18). At first I didn’t expect that the reason behind his greetings is to have a little religious discussion with me.

Btw, to give you an overview Lester was a former Catholic from the beautiful island of Surigao. He used to be very critic to the Catholic Church even before His conversion to his newly established religious organization.

He started the discussion by asking me if I’m still a member of Roman Catholic Church.

With full of proud I said yes, I even added that I don’t have plans to get away from the TRUE CHRUCH founded by Jesus.

I waited for his reply but unfortunately he didn’t reply for the next few hours.

It’s already around 10PM when he replied saying he run out of prepaid credit on his account. I told him, I am attending Mass but he never mind it and sent all his inquiries, accusations and anger to the Catholic Church.  Good thing is that the mass is almost over and just listening to the announcements so I keep on replying to his text messages and there we had a simple discussion.

First text: (First Topic)

In this text message, He is pointing out that the intercession to the Mother of God the Son Jesus is prohibited in the bible by citing Luke 11:27-28, actually the verse is not about intercession to Mary, let us read the scripture:

²⁷ As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd called out, “Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you.”

²⁸ He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”

In this verse he is interpreting this as:

“We can be blessed than Mary herself if we will only follow God in the name of His Son Jesus”

His private interpretation of the scripture is no longer an issue to the Catholic Church for it has been answered and corrected long long time ago and since my idol and former Born Again member Atty. Marwill Lasos already has an article about this I will based my answer from his piece. (original article)

In the Catholic Church, we have always considered Luke 11:27-28 as a text that blesses Mary but for my old friend Lester, on the other hand considers the text as rebuking Marian devotion. He is even go as much as claiming that they [the born again members] are more blessed than Mary because of what Luke 11:27-28 says. This anti-Catholic couldn't be more wrong.

  "Blessed is the womb that bore you" (Lk. 11:27a).

The New International Version renders Luke 11:27-28 this way:

“As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd called out, “Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you.” He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”

The authorized King James Version renders it:

“And it came to pass, as he spake these things, a certain woman of the company lifted up her voice, and said unto him, Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked. But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.”

Anti-Catholics like my friend Lester take “rather” to mean as a particle of contradiction. They say, “No, Mary is not blessed; rather blessed are they …” It is in that sense that the New American Standard Version renders Luke 11:27-28, thus:

“While Jesus was saying these things, one of the women in the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, “Blessed is the womb that bore You and the breasts at which You nursed.” But He said, “On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.”

"Blessed are the breasts that nursed you" (Lk. 11:27b)

Not only Lester but all Anti-Catholics are quick to point out that the "rather" in Luke 11:28 means "on the contrary." This, they say, is a clear proof that Jesus rebukes Marian devotion. With this verse, anti-Catholics are confident that they have shattered to pieces the Catholic case for Marian devotion. They interpret the passage to mean that those who hear the word of God and keep it are much more blessed than Mary (as if Mary herself did not hear the word of God and keep it). But is this interpretation of the text correct? No, it is not. The Greek word used for “rather” in Luke 11:28 is “menoun”:

“autos de eipen menoun makarioi hoi akouontes ton logon tou theou kai phulassontes”

"Blessed are those who hear the word of God" (Lk. 11:28a)

There are various translations of the word menoun. The King James Version translates it as "yea rather" while the Revised Standard Version renders it as "indeed." The Douay-Rheims Version renders it as "furthermore." 

How then is “menoun” to be understood? Protestant Bible scholar Margaret E. Thrall studied Greek particles in the New Testament. This scholar cannot be accused of bias toward the Catholic position. Yet, in her study, she suggests the interpretation of “menoun” in Luke 11;27-28 as: “What you have said is true as far as it goes. But the blessedness of Mary does not consist simply in the fact of her relationship towards myself, but (menoun) in the fact that she shares in the blessedness of those who hear the word of God and keep it, and it is in this that true blessedness lies” [Margaret E. Thrall, Greek Particles in the New Testament (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans, 1962) p. 35].

"... and keep it" (Lk. 11:28b)

The passage, far from downplaying Marian devotion, in fact reinforces it. Jesus makes it clear that Mary is actually "doubly blessed" for being His Mother and for hearing the word of God and keeping it.

Mary is certainly blessed for being the Mother of Our Lord Jesus Christ, as affirmed by the Bible when St. Elizabeth praised her as "most blessed among women" precisely because of the "blessed fruit of her womb"(Lk. 1:42, NJB). Mary is furthermore blessed because she heard the word of God: "Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done unto me according to thy word" (Lk. 1:38). Mary believed the word of God (and even conceived the Word of God Himself!) as clearly testified to by St. Elizabeth under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit: "Blessed is she who believed" (Lk. 1:45). Mary kept the word of God as she "kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart" (Lk. 2: 19, 51).

Mary, Mother of the Word Incarnate

Christians cannot be “blessed” in the sense of any physical or blood relationship with Christ as Mary had with her Son. But we can be surely blessed as Mary was if we, like her, hear the word of God and keep it.

"But be you doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves" (James 1:22)

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Additionally my Spiritual Brother further explain the verse as below:

Si Maria ay Lubos na kinalulugdan ng Diyos.

"Lumapit ang anghel sa dalaga at binati ito, "Magalak ka! Ikaw ay lubos na kinalulugdan ng Diyos. Sumasaiyo ang Panginoon!"(Lucas 1:28)

Si Maria ay kalugud-lugod sa Diyos

"Sinabi sa kanya ng anghel, "Huwag kang matakot, Maria, sapagkat naging kalugud-lugod ka sa Diyos"(Lucas 1:30)

Lahat tao'y tatawagin si Maria na mapalad pati dapat yang Born again na kaibigan mo.

" ang lahat ng tao'y tatawagin akong mapalad."(Lucas 1:48")

"Habang nagsasalita si Jesus, may isang babaing sumigaw mula sa karamihan, "Mapalad ang babaing nagbuntis at nag-alaga sa iyo." Ngunit sumagot siya, "Higit na mapalad ang mga nakikinig sa salita ng Diyos at tumutupad nito!"(Lucas 1:27-28)

Ang Layo naman nyan para gamitin nya na mas mapalad pa tayo kay Maria, natural maraming nag-aalagang ina pero hindi naman palaging nakikinig sa salita ng Diyos.

Si Maria hindi lang nag-alaga kay Jesus bilang anak nya, hindi lang sya basta nakinig ng salita ng Diyos kundi mismo sinunod nya ang kalooban ng Diyos, dahil mas lalong mapalad ang sumusunod ng kalooban ng Diyos kaysa sa nakikinig lang ng salita ng Diyos.

Thanks a lot Brother Lay.