The
incident is quite simply narrated in the Gospel of Luke. While
listening to the amazing teaching of the Lord, a woman in the
crowd shouted out enthusiastically: “Blessed is the womb that
bore You and the breasts that You suckled” (Luke, 11/XI 27). In
other words, the woman is calling the Lord’s mother a blessed
person, thus verifying the Virgin’s prophecy pertaining to
herself: “behold, for from now on, all generations shall call me
blessed” (Luke 1/I 48). The Lord responds to this woman’s
enthusiasm, with the phrase: «ÌÅÍÏÕÍÃÅ
ìáêÜñéïé ïé áêïýïíôåò ôïí ëüãïí ôïõ Èåïý êáé öõëÜóóïíôåò áõôüí»
“Undoubtedly, but, blessed are those who heed the word of the
Lord and preserve it” (Luke II/XI 28).
... the last part
of the excerpt was delivered in modern Greek as follows: “Blessed
rather are those who listen to the word of the Lord and
preserve it”. Therefore, those who listen to and preserve
the divine word are more blessed than the mother of the Lord.
Naturally, no-one doubts the significance and the importance of
listening to the divine word, especially when it is accompanied
by its enforcement. Nevertheless, the proposed meaning of “ÌÅÍÏÕÍÃÅ”
(men-oon-yeh) inferring “blessed rather”, to pertain to those who
preserve the divine word and not to the Holy Mother, is
incorrect.
I believe that the
error lies in the slip in the translation of the very first word
of this sentence, which is a composite word: the particle “ÌÅÍÏÕÍÃÅ”
(men-oon-yeh). What is its significance? According to the
dictionaries, this particle is comprised of three different
words: the oppositional particle “ÌÅÍ”
(men = rather), the conclusive particle “ÏÕÍ”
(oon = therefore) and the certifying particle “ÃÅ”
(ye = certainly). In composite form, these words do not maintain
their initial significance. The fragment “ÌÅÍÏÕÍÃÅ”
(men-oon-ye) is usually used at the beginning of a reply; at
times, it can be used as a weighty verification and it can also
be used as a certification that somehow corrects and supplements
the significance of those words that precede it. The particle “ÃÅ”
(ye = certainly) intensifies the meaning of the word to which it
is annexed. Thus, the specific tract of the New Testament, could
be seen as equivalent to the modern Greek expressions of “indeed”,
“yes,
of course”,
“most
certainly!”.
It is remarkable how, this same composite word “ÌÅÍÏÕÍÃÅ”
(men-oon-yeh) is mentioned in three other tracts of the New
Testament, with the same connotation: Romans 9/IX 19 and 10/X
18, Philippians 3/III 8. In each of these instances, this word
confirms the significance of the preceding sentence and
intensifies its meaning.
To confine myself
to Luke 11/XI 28 and the verse that gave rise to this
commentary: The Lord –on replying to the woman’s display of
enthusiasm- begins with this word “ÌÅÍÏÕÍÃÅ”
(men-oon-yeh), not for the purpose of denying or diminishing her
admiration towards His mother: “He does not deny the natural
kinship, but only adds to it the kinship of virtue”,
comments saint John the Chrysostom (On Matthew, 45,1). The
Lord wants to say that He fully agrees and accepts as sincere
the popular expression of admiration towards His mother. And
furthermore, with what he says further down, He aspires to
leading his audience’s thoughts to something nobler. The meaning
of His words is: “Yes! Of course! Certainly! My mother is
blessed as you say, but I say to you that blessed is the one who
heeds my divine word and preserves it”.
“These words of the Lord” says Saint John
the Chrysostom “do not indicate that He is repulsing His mother;
they are stressing that this birth would have been of no benefit
to the Holy Mother, if she hadn’t also been very pure and
faithful” (On John, 21,3). Thus, the Lord is encouraging the woman into
hoping that she too – like every Christian – can become blessed
just like His mother, if she heeds His word and preserves it.
Another similar response by Jesus bears the same meaning, when,
as He spoke, they announced to Him that His mother and brothers
were asking for Him and He replied “My mother and my brothers
are those who listen to the word of God and obey it (Luke 8/VIII
21, Matthew 12/XII 48-50, Mark 3/III 34-35)
The blessedness of
the Virgin and her utmost glory are attributed to the fact that
she was selected to become the mother of the Lord, precisely
because she remained the eternal guardian of the divine Lord.
She herself opens her soul and submits herself to Him: “Behold,
the handmaiden of the Lord” (Luke 1/I 45).