Jesus Creates a New Family

Text: Mark 3:19b-35

Reflection and Question: : In this passage, controversy swirls around Jesus. After the brouhaha with some scribes over the genesis of His message, He has the audacity to ignore His own mother and brothers — which was a big deal because the family was such a crucial structure of Jewish religion and society. Instead, Jesus establishes the circle of believers who do the will of God as His family. This secondary place of family compared to the congregation distinguished the early church and remains in Christian tradition today. How do you respond to Jesus shunning His family, preferring the faithful?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, You startle us with the treatment here of Your own mother and brothers. And yet it gives us heart to do the will of God, that we may be Your brothers and sisters in the family You create. Thanks for the promise made here. Amen.

This meditation is based on the Daily Lectionary Year 1 from the Book of Common Worship for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) (1993).