Be my Brother

Today’s Gospel Text: Then his mother and his brothers came to him, but they could not reach him for the crowd. 20 And he was told, "Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see you." 21 But he said to them, "My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it." Luke 8:19-21

Reflection:  Was it an outright denial by Jesus of his mother and brothers? It seems so or it could mean that both is true.

Or else we could term Christ Jesus as a liar? Indeed these were his mother and brothers (according to most Asian tradition, a cousin is always looked upon as a brother and sister, this issue has already been discussed elsewhere, in a previous reflection before on this blog) at least in the physical sense.

Hence, it cannot be that Jesus by asserting the new criteria has denied his mother and brothers, but has only set in place his priority, in which he is proclaiming the new relationship which is born out of the word of God.

This hearing of the word of God is not just the reading of it by any human element and we listen, rather it is the listening to a living God who constantly speaks, and may speak to our hearts more powerfully through his written word, either in our personal reading or when read by others.

God speaking to our hearts generates faith and trust in him, the foundation of all relationship. There can be no relationship without faith and trust in a living person, with constant interactions with him.In other words; no relationship can exist without communication,

Jesus by his sacrificial death has broken the barrier of communication with the one true living God.

It is this interaction with the God, who speaks to us, that we can be assured in our hearts that he the God is our Father. He is not just my Father but also the Father of all those who have received this word.

Mary, we know for sure received this word of the Father, in absolute trust and confidence and hence is the prime model of this relationship which we all are called to imitate.

Her attitude of pondering, which means being open to listening to his voice, is an hall mark of her dedicated discipleship, which I am sure was passed on to Jesus’ cousins too.

Prayer:  Lord, if I have failed to live up to your expectation of not being constantly attuned to your voice, then forgive me and strengthen me to listen.

DD = Dedicated Discipleship:  Come grow in the Lord with us