Father Perry D. Leiker, pastor.
“Looking Ahead” is a reflection on the Sunday readings, for the 10th Sunday in Ordinary Time, by Father Perry.
By Father Perry D. Leiker, pastor
As Jesus was surrounded by crowds pushing and shoving to draw close to hear him, the criticisms began to be spoken: “He is out of his mind”; and, “He is possessed by Beelzebul.”
And these criticisms were made not by his enemies; but by his own relatives. This was truly a case of not being understood. First, by logic, Jesus responds and points out how ludicrous their criticism was for, as he stated —
“If a kingdom is divided against itself, it cannot stand.”
Jesus and his family
But great teacher that he was, he opened up a truth of even greater significance. When told that, “your mother and your brothers and your sisters are outside asking for you,” he replied, “Who are my mother and my brothers?”
Then the deepest truth got revealed as he noted —
“Here are my mother and my brothers; for whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”
Blood relationships link us together. But the truth is that there are still deeper relationships, and they are formed not by blood but rather by intentional decisions — by choice.
They are birthed and nurtured not in some automatic unchosen way (by blood), but rather by deeper realities: beliefs, truths, wisdom, faith, and the decision to live in union of heart and mind.
It is both a consolation and a deep truth to hear Jesus call us his brothers and sisters; for by faith, that is what we become!
Quote of the week |
“May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears.” — Nelson Mandela (1918-2013).
