10th Sunday Year B
10th Sunday Year B – Who are my brothers and sisters?
Who here thinks it is strange to hear Jesus ask this question? Who here thinks or at least had that sneaky thought that he was being disrespectful to and of his holy mother?
I certainly did the first time I read this or heard this reading! But then I had a longer think about it and considered it in the light of who Jesus was and what it was that he was doing. He was trying to reach and teach a people that were struggling to understand and to accept that God loved them as his very own children when they did what pleased him.
He was trying to let them know that they were each a brother or sister or mother – the closest of family members – to him and to each other. Note that he didn’t say father. He knew that he and they had only the one father and he was their father in heaven,
He wanted them, the people and his disciples, to understand that they had responsibilities to and for each other – just as they already understood this about their own family members. He wanted them to realise that they had to care for each other, to look after each other, no matter the individual state or situation of the person but to take them into their hearts, their minds and their spirits, completely,
And Jesus knew that this whole concept of everyone being family together, was hard. It was a lot harder than in our own current society. For the Jews there were so many taboos. Widows were taboo. Orphans were taboo. Invalids were taboo, in fact just about any form of disability was taboo. And of course there were the taboo occupations like tax-collectors, shepherds and more. These taboos mean that these people were untouchables. They were pariahs and had to be avoided at all costs. You must not speak with them or associate with them. In fact you should cross the road to avoid them and cast them out of your social circle.
So there was a huge part of society that the Law forbade you from associating with, and Jesus wanted them to challenge this. He wanted them to love ALL of their neighbours, no matter their wealth or health situations; no matter their occupations. All people are our bothers and sisters and mothers. All people are our family and we have to look out for them and look after them as best as we can.
Jesus very deliberately challenged his disciples and the people listening to stop and consider where they were at and what they were doing. He challenged them to change and to become better: better people; better friends of and with God; better family members.
So where are we at when we consider the relevance of this reading for us today here in New Ferry? Is it relevant or can we dismiss it out of hand? Think about this for a few moments.
Who do we see and accept as our neighbour? Who do we see and accept as our family members? What is the sound of their voice like, what is their accent like? What is the colour of their skin? Who do we allocate a taboo to, either consciously and deliberately or subconsciously? Who do we avoid and not speak with or to?
It can be uncomfortable to realise that we all have our own self-applied taboos where we allocate positions in our own society, where we place people on higher or lower rungs because of who they are or the work they do or the position they hold. We all do it – and it is wrong because we are all sons and daughters of God, each deserving of his love and regard and each deserving of the love and regard of every single one of our brothers and sisters here on earth. We are all God’s people and he loves each and every one of us for who we are.
Who are my brothers and sisters? You are, as I am yours. We need to work together to do the will of God by showing our love of and for him by how we love and care for each other and especially those of us who cannot care for themselves or who do not receive the care they need from our society.
This weekend we pray for life. We remember all those babies slaughtered by and through abortions. We remember those people whose lives have been cut short by murder and violence, by war and by conflict. We pray for lives filled with love and with appreciation of the sanctity of life, this most precious gift from God our father.