Honored to be Jesus' Brother, Sister and Mother

In the Gospel of today,  Mark 3: 31-35, Jesus tells us that all those who do the will of His Father are his brothers, sisters, and mothers.  He extends family beyond the nuclear family.  For all of us, family is a bond that is like no other. If our parents are serious about their promise to us at our baptisms, it is in our families that most of us learn to love, to forgive, to show tenderness, to be compassionate.  At our baptisms, our parents promised to pass on the faith to us, to teach us about Jesus, to model turning to the Lord in good times and in  bad times, to follow God’s will in the routine responsibilities of our lives. It was Jesus’  mother  who taught Him  that doing God’s will is what  binds us to one another as sisters and brothers and mothers to each other.  It was that belief that prompted Him, when he family appeared, to use that moment as a teaching moment, telling everyone listening to His message—God’s will for them at that moment—that they were elevated to membership in God’s family and thus  each of them was  brother, sister, and mother to Him.  May you cherish that honor!