A lay preacher received a call from another church offering him a higher salary. He spent much time in prayer, trying to discern what God wanted him to do. One day a friend met the preacher’s son on the street and enquired about his dad’s position, and if he had made a decision. The boy replied, “Well, Dad is praying, but Mom is packing!”
In today’s Gospel passage, Jesus extends his family to all those who do God’s Will. Jesus must have surprised the disciples when He asked, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?”
They must have been more surprised when Jesus answered His own question with “whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and mother.”
Indeed, Jesus didn’t mean to disown His natural human family by giving the impression that they were insignificant to Him.
Who better fulfilled God’s Will and was more obedient than His natural Mother Mary? Through her fiat, saying “yes” to God, Mary perfectly fulfilled the requirement of being Jesus’ physical and spiritual mother.
So, Jesus’ intention was not to minimize the importance of her and the other members of His physical family, but to convey an important message to His listeners. Jesus’ family comprises of all those who do God’s will.
That means each of us can be Jesus’ brother, sister, or mother, provided we meet the condition. The condition is that we must do the will of His heavenly Father.
How can we know God’s will, and how can we do it?
We can begin with ourselves and our families. Praying individually and together as a family can help us know God’s Will. We can do God’s will in our family by being faithful in our relationships with family members.
We can also do God’s will in our communities. Every day we interact with individuals who a need helping hand, a listening ear, a supportive comment, or a cheerful smile. Perhaps God’s will for us is to be more inclusive of those who need a friend and love the people who cross our paths!
Today as we go about our various activities, let us be attentive to ways we can use the gifts God gives us to do His will.
In doing so, we will be members of God’s family and model for a family, that others will want to be part of, further spreading the love of God.
