Word to the Wise
Tuesday, July 21, 2020 - Tuesday in the 16th Week in Ordinary Time
[Mic 7:14-15, 18-20 and Matt 12:46-50]While Jesus was speaking to the crowds, his mother and his brothers appeared outside, wishing to speak with him. Someone told him, "Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, asking to speak with you." But he said in reply to the one who told him, "Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?" And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and mother." [Matthew]
When I was a boy, there was an old line: "God is my Father, Jesus is my brother. Mary is my mother. I come from a very religious family!" The Gospel According to Matthew omits the reason for Jesus' family looking for him which the Gospel According to Mark reports [3:20-21}. They thought Jesus was "out of his mind" because he was offending the Pharisees and attracting big crowds! In any case, Jesus says that blood kinship to him carries no privileges - only following him through acceptance and action according to his teachings.
Jesus did not create a kingdom with a hereditary monarchy of the sort that some folks love to see in Great Britain and elsewhere. There is no "royal family" of princes and princesses, or dukes and duchesses - no matter how much pageantry we may surround the pope with. Indeed, Jesus warned his disciples not to become like "the rulers of the Gentiles." He rejected the notion that James and John had of privileged seats. Whoever does the will of "my heavenly Father" is the brother, sister or mother of Jesus. Therein is the kingdom.
Nor does the kingdom start at the walls of a church building or the boundaries of a diocese. It begins wherever there is faith in Jesus and love of God and neighbor. It spreads from there to all humanity, Christian or not, as long as we follow in the steps of Jesus. We can choose to be brother, sister or mother fo Jesus Christ. Now, that is quite a religious family! AMEN