The True Kindred of Jesus

In today’s Gospel, we would naturally assume that Jesus would give first place to his family. But with one sentence ‘my mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and put it into practice’ he reveals that every human being can become a member of his family/God’s family. Closeness to Jesus and being his disciple does not depend on just being baptized or by observing the external requirements of our faith, but depends instead on ‘HEARING the word and DOING it’, for Jesus these two go together. Only then can we truly be said to be his brother or sister.

The statement made is also not to contrast the natural family to the family of disciples. There is simply praise for his mother and brothers, ‘my mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and put it into practice’. In other words, we all are disciples who are willing to hearing the Word and doing it.

When Jesus made this statement, he was not just giving a few rules for better living. But he was inviting us to accept adoption into the Divine family of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. So these words of Jesus about his mother and his family are not a slight on Mary, but is reminding us of how he wants everyone to belong to His family.

So, let’s thank Jesus for this great invitation, and ask for the grace to be able to put into practice the Word of God in our life, not as an obligation but as a privilege.