Mother

"Who is my mother?" Mark 3:33.

Jesus' mother, with her sons, came to take him away. When somebody told him, that's when Jesus asked the group sitting around him that question. Sounds a bit disrespectful at first blush, doesn't it? And, humanly speaking, it was. Though Jesus had taken care of his mother (and continued to provide for her even after his death), he made a clear distinction between human relations whether family, tribe, or culture, and the mission he had from God. His true family extended beyond blood lines and cultural ties into the will of God, into whomever might do the things God wants. That's Jesus' genuine family, brother or sister or mother. Doers of God's will.

As we get together with a brother or sister today, we commit to God's business. And, together, we give thanks that Jesus shows our true belonging place in God who created us.