Living in the Spirit

June 6, 2021

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 3:28-35

My first thought when I read this scripture is how did that make Mary feel. I have always thought James rather resented Jesus as Jesus was the eldest, but he left home to pursue his calling. If James was the second son, he probably took on the responsibility of that eldest son. Joseph disappears from the Biblical story after the trip to Jerusalem. (Luke 2:49) If Joseph died early, James might have been the direct support of his family. We learn later that James did come to recognize Jesus as the Messiah and became a leader in the Jerusalem church. None of the gospels go into any detail about the dynamics of this family, but Luke felt the need to share this incident with us.

I have always had a close relationship with my sister and brother. They are important to me. I have dear friends, too, but in this scripture, Jesus is instructing us to put everyone in the same category as mother or sister or brother. So, what does that mean? I am the youngest in my immediate family, so I have known them all since my birth. They, of course, remember things that happened that I do not. We probably expect more of family members than strangers, and disagreement may cause more pain. We can walk away from an acquaintance; our family is always our family. Probably more than anything else, we learn to accept family just the way they are, warts and all.

Perhaps these are keys to how we learn to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. C. S. Lewis tells the story in one of his books about a neighbor that just drove him crazy. He was trying to practice loving this neighbor by listening to her with all her grips and concerns, until one day, he suddenly realized he had learned to love her just as she was. Perhaps that is what Jesus wants us to do with all God’s children.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for inspiring Luke to share this story with us and guide us in applying it in our lives. Amen.

*I think it was The Four Loves

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.