Living in the Spirit
June 10, 2018
Scripture Reading: Mark 3:20-35
Then his mother and his brothers came; and standing outside, they sent to him and called him. A crowd was sitting around him; and they said to him, ‘Your mother and your brothers and sisters are outside, asking for you.’ And he replied, ‘Who are my mother and my brothers?’ And looking at those who sat around him, he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.’ –Mark 3:31-35
One of the by-products of dabbling in genealogy is the further back I go in history and the more people I add to my family tree the more I understand that we are all at least cousins. Being family leads to greater complexities. Our self-identity is shared by the identity of those with whom we are related. That is also true in the family of God of which all people are members. We pride ourselves on our independence while being a part of a web of interdependence.
I do not know about you, but every time I read the scripture above, I wonder if Jesus’ words hurt the feelings of his mother, sisters, and brothers. Did they understand the breadth of his love or that he was not reducing his love for them as much as he was elevating his relationship with all people? I think it took the resurrection and the chat he and his brother James had following his resurrection for James to pick up the mantle and continue Jesus’ ministry. By the time Jesus was an adult, I doubt Mary was surprised by anything he said or did.
The challenge of this scripture for us is can we also view all God’s children as relatives. May is a time for a lot of family stuff. One of my grandnephews and one grandniece graduated from high school. Both attractive, smart, talented, young people are excited about moving on to college. One grandnephew studying to become a minister married a lovely young woman. Cousins from across the country came in for a family reunion a few I had not seen for some time and really enjoyed seeing them all.
Monday night I will be serving dinner and be sharing in worship with a church whose membership is largely homeless people including school dropouts, addicts, alcoholics, persons with mental illnesses, and people who work fulltime but cannot afford housing. These are my relatives too as we share a common brother, Jesus Christ the Son of God.
Prayer: Lord, enable me to love as you love by seeing your image in each person I encounter. Amen.