GOSPEL READING:
Mark 3:31-3531 And his mother and his brothers came; and standing outside they sent to him and called him. 32 And a crowd was sitting about him; and they said to him, "Your mother and your brothers are outside, asking for you." 33 And he replied, "Who are my mother and my brothers?" 34 And looking around on those who sat about him, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 Whoever does the will of God is my brother, and sister, and mother."
Meditation: Who do you love and cherish the most? God did
not intend for us to be alone, but to be with others. He gives us
many opportunities for developing relationships with family,
friends, neighbors, and co-workers. Why did Jesus, on this
occasion, seem to ignore his own relatives when they pressed to
see him? His love and respect for his mother and his relatives was
unquestionable. Jesus never lost an opportunity to teach his
disciples a spiritual lesson and truth about the kingdom of God.
On this occasion when many gathered to hear Jesus he pointed to
another higher reality of relationships, namely our relationship
with God and with those who belong to God.
What kind of relationship does God want with us?
What is the essence of being a Christian? It is certainly more
than doctrine, precepts, and commandments. It is first and
foremost a relationship - a relationship of trust, affection,
commitment, loyalty, faithfulness, kindness, thoughtfulness,
compassion, mercy, helpfulness, encouragement, support, strength,
protection, and so many other qualities that bind people together
in mutual love and unity. God offers us the greatest of
relationships - union of heart, mind, and spirit with himself, the
very author and source of love (1 John 4:8,16).
What is the true nature of God's love?
God's love never fails, never forgets, never compromises, never
lies, never lets us down nor disappoints us. His love is
consistent, unwavering, unconditional, and unstoppable. We may
choose to separate ourselves from him, but nothing will make him
ignore us, leave us, or treat us unkindly. He will pursue us, love
us, and call us to return to him no matter what might stand in the
way. It is his nature to love. That is why he created us - to be
united with him and to share in his love and unity of persons (1
John 3:1). God is a trinity of persons - Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit - and a community of love. That is why Jesus challenged his
followers and even his own earthly relatives to recognize that God
is the true source of all relationships. God wants all of our
relationships to be rooted in his love.
The Lord Jesus offers each one of us a personal
relationship with himself
Jesus is God's love incarnate - God's love made visible in human
flesh (1 John 4:9-10). That is why Jesus describes himself as the
good shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep and the
shepherd who seeks out the sheep who have strayed and lost their
way. God is like the father who yearns for his prodigal son to
return home and then throws a great party for his son when he has
a change of heart and comes back (Luke 15:11-32). Jesus offered up
his life on the cross for our sake, so that we could be forgiven
and restored to unity and friendship with God. It is through Jesus
that we become the adopted children of God - his own sons and
daughters. That is why Jesus told his disciples that they would
have many new friends and family relationships in his kingdom.
Whoever does the will of God is a friend of God and a member of
his family - his sons and daughters who have been ransomed by the
precious blood of Christ.
The Lord wants to transform all of our relationships so we
can love as he loves
An early Christian martyr once said that "a Christian's only
relatives are the saints" - namely those who have been redeemed by
the blood of Christ and adopted as sons and daughters of God.
Those who have been baptized into Jesus Christ and who live as his
disciples enter into a new family, a family of "saints" here on
earth and in heaven. Jesus changes the order of relationships and
shows that true kinship is not just a matter of flesh and blood.
Our adoption as sons and daughters of God transforms all of our
relationships and requires a new order of loyalty to God first and
to his kingdom of righteousness and peace. Do you want to grow in
love and friendship? Allow God's Holy Spirit to transform your
heart, mind, and will to enable you to love freely and generously
as he loves.
Heavenly Father, you are the source of all true friendship and love. In all my relationships, may your love be my constant guide for choosing what is good and for rejecting what is contrary to your will.
Psalm 24:7-10
7 Lift up your heads, O gates! and be lifted up, O ancient doors! that the King of glory may come in.
8 Who is the King of glory? The LORD, strong and mighty, the LORD, mighty in battle!
9 Lift up your heads, O gates! and be lifted up, O ancient doors! that the King of glory may come in.
10 Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory!
Daily Quote from the Early Church Fathers: The cross of Christ as victory, by Augustine of Hippo, 430-543 A.D.
"[Mary] did the Father's will. It was this in her that the Lord
magnified, not merely that her flesh gave birth to flesh... When
he said, 'Blessed are they who hear the Word of God and keep it'
(Luke 11:28), he was in effect saying: 'My mother whom you have
called blessed is blessed for the reason that she keeps the Word
of God, not that the Word was made flesh in her and dwelt among us
(John 1:14), but that she keeps the very Word of God through which
she was made and which was made flesh in her." (excerpt
from TRACTATE ON JOHN 10.3.2)
