Note: On Tuesdays and some Sundays, you can find me at Your Daily Tripod, owned by my friend TonyD. A longer version of the post below appears there.
He said to them in reply, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it.” (Luke 8:21, NABRE)
If you came from a loving, generous, considerate family with minimal drama, you may find Jesus’s comment hard. Why the seeming indifference about seeing Mary and his cousins and other relatives? They want to see him but can’t get through the crowd. Why doesn’t Jesus excuse himself for a minute to greet 
them, or ask those gathered to let them through?
If, on the other hand, your background includes disconnection, disrespect, and worse, you may warm to this passage. There is another family for you, a bigger family, a family where people try to emulate the Lord. They don’t always succeed here on earth, of course. But they try. And faith brings the hope of spending eternity with the greatest Father of all.
You see, Jesus wasn’t turning his back on those he called mother and brother. He was opening his arms to embrace all who seek to listen to and do God’s will.
