Note: On Tuesdays, you can find me at Your Daily Tripod, owned by my friend TonyD. A longer version of the post below appears there.
Then his mother and his brothers came to him, but they could not reach him because of the crowd. And he was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you.” But he said to them, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.” (Luke 8:19-21)
They couldn’t get to Jesus physically because of the crowd, and someone didn’t think that was right. Jesus’s response comes off as a little cold to us: “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.”
But if we consider it in a different light, the response is welcoming and comforting.
It wasn’t that Jesus was indifferent to his mother or other 
family members—remember, He was fully human and fully divine. But he knew they didn’t have to with Him physically to be with Him spiritually. And in those words, He opened up an invitation to His family to all—blood relatives or not.
As Catholics, we have the gift of a physical connection with Jesus each time we receive the Eucharist. For some of us, that is not possible amid the pandemic. But we still can be part of His family. We show our acceptance of God’s word every time we pray; every time we obey; every time we help those in physical, spiritual, or emotional need. We needn’t stand outside unless we’d rather live—and die—that way.
