Daily Gospel Reflection for January 24, 2017

Today's Gospel: Mark 3:31-35 - Memorial of St. Francis de Sales

This Bible verse is always a hard one for me because I’m a literal person. I like things to be very black and white. When Jesus responds with “Here are my mother and my brothers,” I begin to think back to the beginning of the verse and I notice that St. Mark didn’t mention Mary being present, and that Jesus doesn’t have brothers and sisters. Then Jesus clarifies that “Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.” OH ok, you were saying if we do the will of God we are part of your family. So my black and white brain relaxes a little as I remember that Christ is my brother and those in the family of Christ are my brothers and sisters.

But then I start to worry again because in reasoning through the idea, if I don’t do the will of God, then I am detaching myself from the family of God. This is such a powerful image, to me, of the effects of sin. When I knowingly and willfully disregard the will of God, I chose to step away from the family. Luckily, I know that God’s love and forgiving mercy are always present to me, even when I feel as though I’ve detached from them. The beauty of confession allows me to be sorrowful for my choices and to turn back to God.

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Ponder:

Christ considers each of us his family members. In your daily life, how do you acknowledge Christ as your brother?

Pray:

Heavenly Father, help us to always remember that you are our father and Christ is our brother and Mary is our Mother. Help us to race back to you when we’ve made the choice to push you away. Amen.