Jesus redefines family
The next six days explore some texts about being disciples of Jesus. In fact, it is possible to argue that all of the gospel of Matthew is about how to be a disciple of Jesus. Many of the passages we have looked at already have raised those question, this week there will be a few more on the way to Palm Sunday and Holy Week
Matthew 12:46-50
46 While he was still speaking to the crowds, his mother and his brothers were standing outside, wanting to speak to him. 47 Someone told him, ‘Look, your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.’ 48 But to the one who had told him this, Jesus replied, ‘Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?’ 49 And pointing to his disciples, he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers! 50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.’
Jesus, shockingly, redefines family here. The family Jesus envisions is not built on blood relationships, the family bond Jesus points to is created around commitment to doing the will of God. All those who do God’s will, Jesus says, are part of his family.
We use phrases like “the family of God”, “siblings in Christ” very easily, but sometimes we have very shallow understandings of what is meant by those words. Just like today, in the times of Jesus and the early church, there were people who had no family, or who were cutoff from family. Widows drew significant attention from Jesus both in words and actions. Widows received significant attention also in the life of the early church. The themes in Paul’s writing where he calls fellow followers of Jesus his siblings, sisters, brothers, is a further indication of the family tie he understood to be present among the followers of Jesus.
The lonely, the abandoned, the cutoff, the ostracized were offered a new place of belonging among those who chose to follow Jesus. Here was a community of care and compassion that welcomed fellow followers of Jesus as members of the family. These were not just words that the early church said. The early church provided tangible care to those who had no family: giving food, providing social gatherings, making opportunities to join in the work of the church.
Our society faces a crisis, an epidemic, of loneliness. The people of God who call themselves church are called to build a community of care and compassion so people can find a family. A place, where to quote a line from the TV show Cheers – “A place where everybody knows your name and thy are always glad you came.” I would go further, a place where you know you would be helped if you needed it, and a place where you would help others if they needed it.
Jesus’ new family is a community made up of people who together seek to live into the pattern of Jesus Christ.
PRAYER:
O Lord, we rejoice that your Son, Jesus Christ, created a new family, one to which everyone, including the lonely and the alone, the isolated and the forgotten, is welcome. Help your church, the people who bear your name, to be a family of welcome and compassion. In Jesus’ name. Amen.