A reading from the gospel of Matthew 12:46-50

46 While Jesus was speaking to the crowds, his mother and his brothers appeared outside, wishing to speak with him.
47 Someone told him, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, asking to speak with you.”
48 But he said in reply to the one who told him, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?”
49 And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers.
50 For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and mother.”

Reflection: Doing the will of God

Jesus is passionate in doing His mission. He uses every opportunity to teach the people. When His loved ones wanted to talk to Him while He was busy speaking to the crowds, He took it as an opportunity to make a relevant point, that is, doing the will of the father is the most valuable thing in life.

Jesus never wanted to disrespect His own mother or any of His loved ones but as the “Son of Man”, He does not prioritize the needs of His family over His mission. He is no longer confined to His immediate family but to everyone else. Something that must be learned here: family should never hinder one to serve God.

The behavior of Mary, His mother, must be pointed out here. She did not force herself to approach her son Jesus. She patiently waited at a distance. This is something to be emulated. Patience to wait is a virtue.

The gospel reminds us that we belong to a Family with God as our loving Father. When we seek to do His will, we become the brother, or sister, or mother of Jesus. How wonderful it would be when Jesus Himself would proudly say of us, “here is my brother” or “here is my sister”!

God’s love for us is constant. We may be His prodigal children but He is patiently waiting for our return. May we now “seek first His kingdom” and all the things that we thirst for will be given to us.