25th Week in Ordinary Time

My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it. 

Did Jesus really reject his relatives? Was he really telling Mary to go back to Nazareth and leave him alone? No more than he really wanted his followers to pluck out their eyes or cut off their hands (Matthew 5:29-30). In Jewish culture, family bonds were vital to a person’s identity, social standing, and even legal status. Without these connections, you were alone and adrift in the world.

Because he seemed to be publicly denying his own family, Jesus got the crowd’s attention. He knew that he was doing a new work here, and he wanted to spell it out for them clearly. He was forging a new path for Israel, showing them how closely related he was to his heavenly Father—and how close they could be as well.

He was also showing that to be in Jesus’ clan means to listen attentively to his teachings and then to live out that teaching in every aspect of their lives. It’s not enough to know what God’s will is. He wants us to embrace that will with all that we are and to act on it in our day-to-day lives.

Of course, Jesus’ mother already had this relationship with God. Many of his other relatives would also follow him into the Father’s embrace after his death and resurrection. The question for his listeners that day was whether they wanted to do the same thing. Was a relationship with God attractive enough for them to want to direct their whole lives toward doing his will?

We can ask that same question of ourselves. How closely are you embracing Jesus’ word and acting on it? What about your relationship with your family? Make sure you aren’t using passages like this one as a loophole to distance yourself from difficult relatives. In fact, embracing God’s will is the surest path to healing and unity!

Jesus wants to guide you into a life-giving relationship with him and his Father. And he wants to guide you into a life-giving relationship with all your brothers and sisters in him!

“Jesus, help me see the Church as your family and as my family as well. Teach us all to live as brothers and sisters in your name.”

Proverbs 21:1-6, 10-13
Psalm 119:1, 27, 30, 34-35, 44
Luke 8:19-21