Who is My mother and who are My brothers?

 "When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none.  Then he says, "I will return to my house from which I came.'  And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order.  Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first.  So shall it also be with this wicked generation."

While He was still talking to the multitudes, behold, His mother and brothers stood outside, seeking to speak with Him.  Then one said to Him, "Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with You."  But He answered and said to the one who had told Him, "Who is My mother and who are My brothers?"  And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, "Here are My mother and My brothers!  For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother."

- Matthew 12:43-50

In yesterday's reading, Jesus continued His reply to the Pharisees after they accused Him of casting out demons by the power of demons (see Monday's reading):   "Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.  Brood of vipers!  How can you, being evil, speak good things?  For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.  A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.  But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.  For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."  Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, "Teacher, we want to see a sign from You."  But He answered and said to them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.  For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.  The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.  The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here."

"When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none.  Then he says, "I will return to my house from which I came.'  And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order.  Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first.  So shall it also be with this wicked generation."  My study bible notes that when the Israelites were delivered out of Egypt, they did not repent of their impure ways, and an unclean spirit took up residence in their hearts (Deuteronomy 31:20; Psalm 105:34-39).  Therefore it is important, essential that we guard our hearts.  Unless there is full repentance and the Holy Spirit dwells in a person, my study bible tells us, an expelled demon will return with others and reoccupy its above.  Jesus reminds us of the importance of the concept of repentance; our choices count for something, one way or the other, and we always have the choice to continue down a bad road but not without consequence.  In this particular case, He's still speaking to the Pharisees and scribes, continued from yesterday's reading, above.  The number seven is symbolic of completeness, indicating that going from bad to worse may mean our entire being is affected (see 6:23).

While He was still talking to the multitudes, behold, His mother and brothers stood outside, seeking to speak with Him.  Then one said to Him, "Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with You."  But He answered and said to the one who had told Him, "Who is My mother and who are My brothers?"  And he stretched out His hand toward His disciples ad said, "Here are My mother and My brothers!  For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother."   Jesus' relatives haven't yet understood His identity or His mission.  Christ points all of us toward a spiritual family based on obedience to the will of My Father.  It's important to understand, also, that brother can refer to any number of relations.  Abram called his nephew Lot "brother" (Genesis 14:14).  Boaz referred to his cousin Elimelech as his "brother" (Ruth 4:3), and Joab called his cousin Amasa "brother" (2 Samuel 20:9).   From the earliest understanding, it has been maintained that Christ had no blood brothers, for Mary had only one Son, Jesus.  These brothers mentioned in this passage are either stepbrothers (sons of Joseph by a previous marriage), or they are cousins.  The fact that Jesus, from the Cross, commits His mother to the care of John (John 19:25-27) substantiates this understanding.  If Mary had had other children to care for her, my study bible says, it would have been unthinkable to do so.

Jesus teaches us that His love is extended to us through something quite different than the usual ways we think of as creating family:  through the soul.  As God is the Creator of the soul, our return to God is rightful place, and true adjustment to identity.  It is in this identity that we find the kind of family that Christ speaks about.  A return to Creator is inseparable from a desire to live the will of God -- "My Father in heaven."  There is no contradiction in this:  we know the same will is shared between the Three Persons of the Trinity.  But in the same sense, so we also come to desire and build and participate in communion with God.  In some particular sense, Christ's mission into the world is to bring human beings into that communion.  Hence, we become His mother and sister and brother.  The ways in which this happens link us up to the previous verses in today's reading:  the warning about the unclean spirit and an outcome worse than the first instance.  "Unclean" is a translation from a word that more closely means "impure" in the sense of adulterated or mixed with something else; that is, sinful.  Because it is the Holy Spirit who is at work in us to create a life based on the values of Christ's ministry, that is, on this seeking of the "will of My Father in heaven," so we have as active in us this Spirit that brings us into all truth, and illumines the ministry of Christ for human beings.  Jesus calls the Holy Spirit our "Comforter" -- or rather, the word Paraclete, which in Greek means "the one who comes when called."   This meaning is akin to a defender, a counselor, an advocate.  This is the One whom we need in order to stay in the right place, to deal with an adversary, to continue a life based on the teachings of Christ, to guard the heart.   We are taught that we all have a guardian angel, and so the forces that array to help us in this "good fight" are many, even myriad.  Let us remember, however, Christ's warning, and also His offer.  He gives us a family, one based on the truth of God and the reality of Creator, the true place from which we all come and where we find a home in His love.