Doing the Will of God
Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)
Read this Gospel passage aloud to the family
Mark 3:20-35 – Jesus came with his disciples into the house. Again the crowd gathered, making it impossible for them even to eat. When his relatives heard of this they set out to seize him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.” The scribes who had come from Jerusalem said of Jesus, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “By the prince of demons he drives out demons.”
Summoning them, he began to speak to them in parables, “How can Satan drive out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand; that is the end of him. But no one can enter a strong man’s house to plunder his property unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can plunder his house. Amen, I say to you, all sins and all blasphemies that people utter will be forgiven them. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an everlasting sin.” For they had said, “He has an unclean spirit.”
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.”
(Parent) Reread this part a few times aloud
“Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”
(Parent) Read this meditation aloud to the family
There is a lot going on in this Gospel passage today. It might be hard for us to fit it all neatly together. But the various reactions people have to Jesus do really give us some context for understanding the growth of His ministry at this point in the Gospel. Jesus’ ministry has grown notable for obvious reasons: He is performing amazing healings, teaching with profound authority, and is actively traveling around spreading His message. As this new ministry grows fast, people have their strong thoughts and opinions. Some people think Jesus is crazy. Some people think Jesus is evil. Some people think Jesus is wonderfully good.
When Jesus’s mother and relatives (at least some of those who didn’t think He was crazy) show up to visit Him, He says, “whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.” This wasn’t meant as an insult His natural human family, but was meant to stress the importance of His spiritual family. Anyone can be part of this family of Christ. But to do so we have to follow certain criteria. Jesus says whoever does His will is part of His family. To be part of the family of Christ we must be serious about doing His will—not just liking what He wants, but doing what He wants. So, how are we doing?
As a family, pray a portion of the Rosary together (very short if children are young) reflecting on the Scripture passage above.(Optional: allow a brief time for discussion or questions from children concerning their thoughts and prayer.)
Reminder for Parents: Pier is just meant to be a jumping off point. The real goal is that you pray & eventually use the fruits of your personal prayer as the content of your family’s prayer. Duc in altum.
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