Daily Gospel Reflection for January 27, 2015

Today's Gospel: Mark 3:31-35

Optional Memorial of Saint Angela Merici, Virgin

“Who are my mother and my brothers?”
And looking around at those seated in the circle he said,
“Here are my mother and my brothers.
For whoever does the will of God
is my brother and sister and mother.”

All of the readings today focus on doing the will of God. It is this that proves that we are His children—brothers and sisters of Jesus. Throughout the Old Testament, God continually told the Israelites that the sacrifice He truly wanted was our own hearts. Even though He set up the Law with its animal sacrifices, this was not the thing God wanted the most; what He wanted was for mankind to turn away from the idols these animals represented and turn to Him for love and consolation. This would show Him that we were truly His children.

So when Jesus says this, He is not putting down His Blessed Mother and His relatives. Instead, He expands the meaning of family, putting it in God's perspective. God looks upon each person in that room as His child, especially when they assent to His divine will. Rather than seeing this as a put-down of the Blessed Mother, we can see it as a raising-up of the rest of us, and a promise from God that if we do His will, He will look upon each of us as His own child.

Ponder:

Am I putting idols before God? Do I look to worldly things — Facebook, Twitter, TV, gossip, sports — for consolations instead of God? What can I do to put God first in everything I do?

Pray:

Lord, I want to do Your will. Teach me how to follow You more closely, and how to turn to You first in all things. Give me grace and strength to resist the pull of this world and keep my eyes on You and Your Heavenly Kingdom. Amen.

We thank our friends at The Word Among Us for providing our gospel reflection team with copies of Abide In My Word 2015: Mass Readings at Your Fingertips. To pray the daily gospels with this wonderful resource, visit The Word Among Us.

Copyright 2015 Christine Johnson