A Big Family

Gospel: Luke 8: 19-21

In ancient religions the primary point of access to the deity was through lineage and ancestry.  To belong to a family that derived from one of the gods, or in the case of Israel to be a descendant of David and Abraham was to have access to God.  Everyone else did not belong to that deity, did not enjoy the protection and care that deity offered to those who belonged.

But today's reading has Jesus overturn all that thinking.  When told of his family's presence, Jesus makes clear that belonging to God's family is not about being a relative or having lineage with anyone.  It is solely about doing the good deeds of God on earth, of offering the same mercy that God has shown us, of loving others as God loved us.  In this way, access to God is open to everyone without qualification.  No one is excluded.

There is never a point in our lives when we are not in need of God's mercy, not in need of God's love.  There are no upper class "faithful" Christians.  There are just sinners in need of God's mercy, and if we seek this mercy we must in turn show this mercy to others.  This is what it means to belong to God's family, a household of people looking to love one another and show mercy to one another each day.