Reflections
My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it Jesus established a different criterion of relationships – from blood or race to one that is marked by God’s word. There is a lot of meaning in the words of the message: “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside…” Mary is not being excluded here or other family members. The challenge is belonging to a new family that is no longer based on blood ties. Mary responded to the invitation of God by being chosen to be the mother of God’s Son but perhaps even more in her saying ‘Yes’ (“Let it happen to me according to your word”), in her unswerving ‘Yes’ to God’s invitation and in her standing by her Son to the very end when all the rest had fled. Our discipleship, too, is not determined by our being born into a Catholic family or just by being baptized or by observing the external requirements of our faith but by our total commitment to the Gospel and to an unconditional following of Jesus. Only then can we truly be said to be his brother or sister.
© Copyright Bible Diary 2018