Who are my mother and my brothers? Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother. From a human perspective and understanding, one of the most outrageous, if not scandalous, statements that Jesus ever made took place when his family went out of their way in search of him. And the family had a pretty good reason to go looking for him. Apparently, a rumor was making rounds in Jesus’ hometown that he was possessed by an unclean spirit and was out of his mind. The family, out of concern for the safety of their son and brother, decided to go find him and to bring him home. When they finally located Jesus, they sent word to let him know that they had come to see him. What they had been told about Jesus must have rang true in their ears when they heard Jesus asking who his mother and brothers and sisters were. And as if to add insult to injury, he pointed to those who were gathered about him saying they were his family. For all intents and purposes, Jesus had basically renounced his kinship to his family and replaced them with his followers.
Jesus’ pointing at those who were listening to him and saying that they were his family is a scenario that must have portrayed Jesus as alien to the tenets and values of his own culture. There were some things that could never be compromised for any reason whatsoever. Kinship was prized in Jesus’ community, and as the first born son of his mother, his allegiance to the family could in no way be questionable. In the absence of his father, the duty of taking care of the family fell to him. He could not afford to let them down. And we know he didn’t. Jesus respected the values of his culture, and was aware of his responsibilities as a son to his mother. Despite what might have appeared to be Jesus’ rejection of his family, Jesus’ response was, as a matter of fact, an invitation to those listening to him to become doers of the will of the Father. The premier example of an individual who was a doer of the will of the Father is Jesus’ own mother, Mary. Jesus was fully aware of this, and it might just be that Jesus utilized the opportunity to proudly present his mother to his followers as a model for imitation. At any rate, it was Mary’s fiat – her saying YES to the Lord - that undid the curse that was brought upon the world as a consequence of Adam and Eve’s disobedience.
As we see in today’s First Reading, Adam and Eve’s decision to disobey God brought a curse upon themselves and their descendants. It was a curse that destroyed the relational bonds that existed between God and creation. Adam and Eve were now afraid of God. They were not friends with God anymore and dreaded being in his presence. Even God’s voice that had been familiar and soothing to the first family suddenly sounded like that of a stranger, prompting them to seek a hideout. But it was not only the relationship between God and creation that became strained. The relational bond that held creation together even as it ensured harmony and peaceful co-existence was also fractured, leading to an unhealthy competition amongst creation. Such an unhealthy competition which often leads to death and destruction has, unfortunately, frustrated the plan that God has had for creation from the beginning.
God has always willed the coming to fullness of life by creation. God never willed for any situation that would prevent creation from attaining fullness of life. At creation, God blew upon creation the breath of life, not of death. Jesus Christ, the Word of God made flesh, assumed a creaturely nature in order to “correct” the anomaly that resulted from sin. Jesus walked our world and lived as one of us so as to show us how to regain our status as creatures destined for a life with God. For this is the will of God for us: that we are never separated from God. God’s will for us is that we regain our friendship with God so that we can rejoice in his presence. God’s will for us is that we run towards him whenever we hear his voice, for out of God’s voice come words that give life. The realization of this goal is the reason why Jesus walked our streets. He came to unmask for us the beautiful plan God has for us, a plan that we could not see because of sin. Those who have believed in him by accepting his teaching have regained their status as sons and daughters of God and have once more found themselves on the path towards fullness of life. In other words, those who have come to listen to his words have become his brothers and sisters.