Ezra 6:7-8, 12, 14-20 / Luke 8:19-21
The generation that has seen WWII is passing on. Those that had survived a war that is termed as a "World War" are in their twilight years with not much time remaining.
Whether as a soldier or as a civilian during those years of turmoil, whether as a war veteran or as a survivor, they know what it was like and had a story to tell.
But more than a story, it was an experience that bound them together, a blood-and-tears experience that is seared into the flesh and into the memory for the rest of their lives.
In the 1st reading, when the exiles returned to their homeland, it was return to the desolation and devastation that they had seen 70 years before.
Those that had known what the Temple was before the exile had an experience to share with the younger generation who had not seen that Temple before.
But it was that experience that bound the exiles together to build the new Temple and to build up the nation again.
In the gospel, when Jesus was told that His mother and brothers were looking for Him, He in turn replied that His mother and brothers are those who hear the word of God and put it into practice.
To hear the word of God is to experience the voice of God in the depths of the heart. It is a voice that speaks of peace.
May that experience of peace fill our hearts with love and may we put that love into practice.