The mother of Jesus and his brothers arrived at the house.
Standing outside, they sent word to Jesus and called him.
A crowd seated around him told him,
"Your mother and your brothers and your sisters
are outside asking for you."
But he said to them in reply,
"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." Mk 3:31-35
The gospel reading today for the Memorial of Saints Timothy and Titus, is one that I find to be an interesting selection. It juxtaposes Mary, whom we call blessed and mother, and whom we adore, with all who strive to do the will of God.
To do the will of God might seem to be a monumental task, perhaps one too great for mere men and women to accomplish. We need not look far in this life to notice, not the triumphs of humanity, but the common failures and traps. In our times it frequently seems that the expectation is for us to make a mess of our lives, and so we go about doing just that.
However, there is another way; it is the way of those who are called disciples. One of the memories I cherish and value from my childhood is that my great aunt, who took on the role of mother for me, taught me at an early age that I could be a disciple. She did this by directly teaching me about the disciples and apostles and then telling me that I too could be a disciple.
Discipleship is about doing what the world does not expect us to do. The world tells us to follow after our base appetites and to let no one tell us that the way of our desires will lead to an unfulfilled life rather than the fulfillment that they falsely promise.
Jesus wants us to be disciples. He wants those who long to do his will. Doing the will of God has the effect of incorporating us into the family of Christ. We stand alongside his mother and his brothers and sisters who have said, "I desire to do your will O Lord, help me in my weakness to be what you want me to be. Help me Lord to be what the world does not expect me to be. May I triumph in you; may I overcome in you, and may I be made new entirely in you."
Discipleship is the witness of the power of God to reach in and change lives. It is the witness of conversion, and the witness of a love greater than any love the world knows. Really, I think we all want love. Too often this becomes the source of many failures. If we only knew that the love of God awaits us and the magnitude of it, we might fall to our knees immediately and pray, "thy will be done."
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