FAMILY

Thursday, June 14
Mark 3:32-35   (The Message)
"Jesus responded, 'Who do you think are my mother and brothers?'  Looking around, taking in everyone seated around him, he said, 'Right here, right in front of you - my mother and brothers.  Obedience is thicker than blood.  The person who obeys God's will is my brother and sister and mother'."


     Biological family relationship in Biblical times had everything to do with preservation of the family line, wealth, land, and honor.  Family was the very basis of identity and the source for social and economic life.  Family was important!  I don't think Jesus is rejecting his family here, but rather, he is opening the circle to a new and wider interpretation - the community and family of faith.  This family is centered by God, and in joining, we all are ordained by God with a degree of divinity that brings out our true selves - the selves God made us to be.  For those who have biological families rife with strife and conflict, economic hardship, or other dissent, the family of faith, bound together in a mutual devotion to God and God's will, is essential.  Through Jesus, God has opened his arms to receive ALL as brothers and sisters into this Faith Community.


PS.  This is a second posting.  I made a mistake in one of the captions of the original drawing.  This is the corrected version!  Please delete previous email!