“Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?”
This has always struck me as a little too harsh, especially to Jesus’ poor mother, who has been through a lot already. It’s as if Jesus is dismissing his biological family, entirely.
This morning’s reflection is written by A.W. Tozer, and he focuses on how Jesus showed us God’s nature. He writes, “Christ walked with men on earth that He might show them what God is like and make known the true nature of God to a race that had wrong ideas about Him.” He continues that this is only one thing Christ did on earth, but he did it beautifully. “From him, we learn how God acts toward people. The hypocritical, the basically insincere, will find him cold and aloof, as they once found Jesus”. But to the penitent, the hurting, the hungry, the self-condemning, they will find all the mercy and compassion and forgiveness imaginable.
After making this transition from Hebrew Scriptures to the New Testament, I see this benefit in Jesus. Jesus shows us in human form what God is like.
So what about this “who is my mother, who are my brothers” comment? Is Jesus really being dismissive of Mary? I want to believe not. Mary made great sacrifices. Mary changed his diapers, and dealt with him when he wandered off at the Temple. Maybe what Jesus is doing is trying to show the expansive way God sees family, not to diminish Mary and his brothers, but to elevate everyone else. Everyone who follows Jesus is family, have a vested stake in Jesus, should love him like a brother.
It is true that I have a special connection with my immediate family. If Jesus is here to show us what God is like, I need to figure out the relationship between my love and connection with my immediate family, and what God wants me to do with everyone around me. I don’t think it’s that my children are unimportant, or that I should dismiss my parents’ role in my life, Rather, I should treat all with that same sense of care, love and respect. If I follow Christ, I can strive to have infinite love to offer, because Christ gives it to me. I shouldn’t store it up and give it to the select few in my immediate family. This morning, I’m thinking about how to even things out in how I see and love others. I don’t need to love my family less, I need to love everyone else more.
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