Jesus and His Family

Now Jesus' mother and brothers came to see him,
but they were not able to get near him because of the crowd.
Someone told him, "Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you."
He replied, "My mother and brothers are those who hear God's word and put it into practice."

Luke 8v19-21

Considering how much attention Luke gives to Mary the mother of Jesus, and how much affection Mary seems to have for Jesus, this little story seems kind of harsh. But then maybe a lot had changed between Jesus and Mary. Maybe Mary didn't have faith in her son? Maybe her attention drifted to her other children...and with Jesus becoming such a unique son, she didn't quite know what to do with him. I'm sure she had committed her early songs to memory - her songs and memories of those first days with Jesus: the angels, the shepherds, the Magi, the Presence of God. But that was then, and this was now: in dealing with the real Jesus, the real Messiah, the real God-in-the-flesh, maybe she didn't know what to think.

Regardless of what is mom and family thought of him, Jesus was resolute about what was priority number one: Hear and Do. It's interesting that the letter of James - a brother to Jesus - carries a similar theme. It seems that Jesus was able to win his family over - they did choose to have faith in him, to trust that he was the real thing, to believe what he said.

This is essentially Jesus' message to Israel: Hear God's Word - and live it. Love God and Love Your Neighbor. Act Justly, Love Mercy, Walk Humbly with God. Give Mercy to the Alien and Stranger, to the Widow and the Orphan, to the Enemy and Wicked.

Family is central to everything in the ancient cultures - Jesus makes a radical statement by redefining how his family is. But Jesus ministered in very dire times: judgment was coming unless people repented of their ways and committed to living out the Way of God. We know, though, that Jesus was fond of his family, especially his mother. Jesus is not dismissing his family, but expanding his family. And it's really easy to join his family: hear his words and put them into practice.