Tuesday of the 16th Week in Ordinary Time

“Who Is My Mother? Who Are My Brothers?”
 
These questions in today’s gospel (Mt: 12:46-50) , of course, come in the context of Jesus’ mother and some relatives seeking him out and wanting to speak with him. And we all know well that Jesus goes on to say,
 
“Whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is brother and sister and mother to me.” Strong words here, no? But not in any way a rebuke of His mother or relatives.
 
For me, to be a follower of Jesus is very closely intertwined with deepening my knowledge and understanding of His heart and mind. And I’m sure this is the result of the influence of St. Ignatius on my spiritual life via his Spiritual Exercises.
 
The goal of the Exercises as envisioned by Ignatius is to deepen one’s personal relationship with the Lord. This being the case, it is no accident that the second week of the Exercises is devoted exclusively to the life of Jesus. Ignatius’ thinking is that the more time we spend with Jesus and observe His actions, the more deeply we will come to know Him. And the more we know Him, the more we will come to love Him. And with this, the more closely we will want to follow Him. Our mind and heart aligning with the mind and heart of Our Lord.
 
For Jesus, the will and the Kingdom of His Father are everything. They are his passion; they inform His thinking and actions. His Father’s will is
permeated with His compassion, mirrored constantly in Jesus’ words and actions. The Kingdom is a way of life consisting of justice, compassion, equality, and peace among not just individuals but peoples. His message is to be proclaimed “to the ends of the earth”.
 
Jesus always maintains sight of the “Big Picture”. He thinks ‘big’.
 
For example, for Jesus the entire Law and the Prophets are captured in the 2 Great Commandments. And the first will be last; the last will be first. A humble heart is of greater value than strict observance of the Law (cf the Pharisee and the Publican in the Temple; and the Widow’s Mite, also in the Temple). The place in life of riches and poverty as seen through the eyes of Lazarus and Dives. And the list goes on.
 
We think of ‘family’ as immediate and extended, people who share our very bloodlines. Jesus’ definition of family, as we see in today’s gospel, is quite different, (literally) broader, and “bigger”.

In our ongoing and daily efforts to walk in Jesus’ footsteps, are we getting “lost in the weeds” of the letter of the law? Or are we keeping our eye on what, for Jesus, really defines who His family members truly are? To what extent do we use Jesus’ mind and heart as our guideposts on the journey?