To Be A Kin Of Jesus Ain't Easy

𝐒𝐄𝐏𝐓. 𝟐𝟑, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓: 𝐌𝐄𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐀𝐋 𝐎𝐅 𝐒𝐓. 𝐏𝐈𝐔𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐏𝐈𝐄𝐓𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐂𝐈𝐍𝐀, 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬𝐭

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝟏: 𝐄𝐳𝐫𝐚 𝟔:𝟕-𝟖,𝟏𝟐, 𝟏𝟒-𝟐𝟎

𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦: 𝐏𝐬𝐚 𝟏𝟐𝟐:𝟏-𝟓 “𝐋𝐞𝐭 𝐮𝐬 𝐠𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝.”

𝐆𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐋: 𝐋𝐊 𝟖:𝟏𝟗-𝟐𝟏

𝑲𝒆𝒚 𝑽𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒆: “𝑴𝒚 𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒃𝒓𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝑮𝒐𝒅’𝒔 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒕 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒆.” (𝒗.21) 

When going through the Gospel reading today let me caution you not to think of this passage as a simple story about the family of Jesus who wanted to see him and Jesus expressing his surprise. It’s more than just an encounter among family members because if you will read the last verse (𝐯.𝟐𝟏) and reflect on it, you will realize that this three-verse passage is a precondition that everyone must have if we want to be admitted into the family circle of Jesus.

         We also need to read and reread this passage to fully understand its meaning because to just read it for the sake of reading it might lead us to conclude that Jesus was disrespectful of his mother and his brothers.

         This Gospel narrative must have taken place in a town near Nazareth because Mary his mother and his brothers came to see him but could not get near him because of the crowd who came to listen to his teaching and for the most part to seek healing from Jesus for their sickness and afflictions as word of his wisdom as a prophet and the many whom Jesus healed began to spread throughout Judea.

         And when he was told that his mother and brothers came to see him, Jesus merely said in 𝒗.21: “𝑴𝒚 𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒃𝒓𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝑮𝒐𝒅’𝒔 𝑾𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒕 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒆.” If we turn to 𝐌𝐭 𝟏𝟐:𝟒𝟖-𝟓𝟎, Jesus was more descriptive as he said: “𝑾𝒉𝒐 𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒚 𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒎𝒚 𝒃𝒓𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒔?” 𝑷𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒊𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒔, 𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅, “𝑯𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒎𝒚 𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒚 𝒃𝒓𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒔. 𝑭𝒐𝒓 𝒘𝒉𝒐𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒅𝒐𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑾𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒚 𝑭𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒚 𝒃𝒓𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓.”        

There have been so many variations in the way this Gospel has been interpreted in the past and it remains to be the subject of discussion among Bible students and even confusion at times owing to the question of who are the brothers of Jesus who are referred to in this narrative.

         A closer scrutiny of this Gospel passage, however, will show that Jesus wasn’t disrespectful of his mother and what is clear in this Gospel is the fact that Jesus did not deny his mother nor did he deny his brothers who came to see him.

         Jesus merely said: “𝒎𝒚 𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒃𝒓𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝑮𝒐𝒅’𝒔 𝑾𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒕 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒆.” (𝒗.21) There is also a distinct possibility that Jesus was also surprised when his mother went to see him together with his brothers as it reminded him of the time when his brothers “𝒘𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒈𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒊𝒎, 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅, “𝑯𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒅.” (𝑴𝒌 3:21)        

And what Jesus did is like the relationship that some of us have with our friends with whom we have become closer even if they are not related to us but with whom we share many things in common. This is especially true for some of us who are the only children of our parents and have no siblings we can relate to.

There are also those who by force of circumstance do not have relatives they can turn to and so they relate to and have become closer to their friends especially with friends with whom they grew up with together.

         Here Jesus points out that his mother and brothers are those “𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝑮𝒐𝒅’𝒔 𝑾𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒕 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒆.” (𝒗.21) What this simply means is that we all need to subordinate our will to the Will of God. We need to align our priorities with the priorities of God that must take precedence to what our human mind wills.

         And for us to be considered as the brothers and sisters of Jesus we must give God full control of our lives and allow the Holy Spirit to fill us with its “𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆, 𝒋𝒐𝒚, 𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒆, 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒔𝒖𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔, 𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔, 𝒇𝒂𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔, 𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔, 𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇-𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒍. 𝑨𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕 𝒔𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒐 𝒍𝒂𝒘." (𝑮𝒂𝒍 5:22-23) When these nine virtues that are also the attributes of Christ Himself become operative in our lives, we too will bear the image of Christ in us and this is when we become the mother, brothers and sisters of Christ.

         To allow these fruits of the Holy Spirit to grow in us, we need to take to heart the command of Jesus to “𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒏𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒃𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇.” (𝑴𝒕 22:39) because “𝒃𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒎𝒚 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒊𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒔, 𝒊𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓.” (𝑱𝒏 13:35)        

In addition to bearing fruit we as Catholics have to build up on our faith by our faithful observance and adherence to the Sacraments of our faith such as Baptism for our children as this is the time when the stain of original sin is removed and the three theological virtues are infused into the child by the working of the Holy Spirit that empowers the baptized person to seek God. Sacrament of Confirmation when the child reaches 7 years old which grants the child the power and privilege to go out into the world and be the Good News to others as with the Apostles on the Day of Pentecost.

         Confession which in reality is also a form of exorcism because going to confession expunges the evil in us and the regular reception of the Holy Eucharist because it is this commingling of the Body and Blood of Christ with our own that empowers us to live sanctified lives.

Couples must not forego the Sacrament of Marriage because it is through this sacrament that brings married couples into union with Christ. If by chance any of your children may appear to have the calling to the priesthood, don’t stifle it nor stand in his way because the Sacrament of the Holy Orders is a noble profession as it is a continuation of the priesthood of Christ. Finally, make sure that the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick be administered to those who are dying and who are gravely ill or about to undergo a major operation.

        These, however, are not the only things we as Catholics should do. We must not forget the other important things that we know as the Corporal Works of Mercy and these are: 𝘍𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘳𝘺; 𝘎𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘺; 𝘊𝘭𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘥; 𝘚𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴; 𝘝𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘬; 𝘝𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘉𝘶𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥.       

Then there are the so-called Spiritual Works of Mercy that we also need to enflesh in our lives. These are: 𝘈𝘥𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳; 𝘐𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘵 (𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘨𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘹𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘦𝘵𝘤.); 𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘵𝘧𝘶𝘭; 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘧𝘶𝘭; 𝘉𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺; 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘯𝘫𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴; 𝘗𝘳𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥.        

So, you see friends, it is not that easy to be admitted into the family of Christ much less to be identified as his mother, brother or sister. It takes more than just attending Prayer Meetings or Bible Reflection and Word Sharing Circles. To be one with Christ we must have the capacity to love not only God, ourselves, our neighbor but also what we do either in the workplace, at home or in our community.

         Because it is when love fills our hearts that we can begin to look at one another as relatives and we can hear Jesus say: “𝒎𝒚 𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒃𝒓𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝑮𝒐𝒅’𝒔 𝑾𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒕 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒆.” (𝒗.21)

Let me end with this Prayer For Intercession by St. Pio del Pietrelcina whose Memorial we are celebrating today:

Dear God, You generously blessed Your servant, St. Pio of Pietrelcina, with the gifts of the Spirit. You marked his body with the five wounds of Christ Crucified, as a powerful witness to the saving Passion and Death of Your Son.

Endowed with the gift of discernment, St. Pio labored endlessly in the confessional for the salvation of souls. With reverence and intense devotion in the celebration of Mass, he invited countless men and women to a greater union with Jesus Christ in the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist.

Through the intercession of St. Pio of Pietrelcina, I confidently beseech You to grant me the grace of…… (here state your petition).

Glory be to the Father… (3x). Amen. (𝘌𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘺 – 𝘚𝘦𝘱𝘵. 23, 2025)