For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother

 

 "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 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 

 

On Monday, we read that, after an exorcism in which a mute and deaf man was healed, Jesus was accused by the Pharisees of casting out demons by the power of the ruler of the demons.  In yesterday's reading, Jesus continued His reply to them.  He told them, "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 remarks 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 106:34-39).  So therefore, we guard our hearts.  Unless there is full repentance, my study Bible concludes, and the Holy Spirit dwells in a person, an expelled demon will return with others and reoccupy its abode.

 

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 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."  My study Bible explains that Christ's relatives have not yet understood His identity and mission.  He points here to a spiritual family which is based on obedience to the will of My Father.   It's important to know that in the tradition of Jewish usage, brother here can be used to indicate any number of relations.  Abram called his nephew Lot "brother" (Genesis 14:14); Boaz spoke of his cousin Elimelech as his "brother" (Ruth 4:3); and Joab called his cousin Amasa "brother" (2 Samuel 20:9).  Still today, across the Middle East, use of the word "brother" can mean various relations.  My study Bible further elaborates that Christ Himself had no blood brothers, for Mary had only one Son:  Jesus.  The brothers mentioned here, it notes, were either stepbrothers (sons of Joseph by a previous marriage), or cousins.  We must note that Christ committed His mother to the care of St. John at the Cross (John 19:25-27), which would have been unthinkable if Mary had had other children to care for her.

 

 In a secular world, we might find it a bit stark, even shocking, that Jesus speaks in such categorical terms regarding the spiritual world of good and evil, of demons and the Holy Spirit.  But we should not confuse these spiritual terms and realities with the way, say, political parties work.  This is not a choice between human beings as candidates for office, nor even as candidates for friendship.  Jesus is speaking of how and why the spiritual world works, and its role in our hearts -- what we admit, or rather, what we choose to participate in, or not.  If we think in terms of energies, it might be a bit more clear that we can choose to participate in "negative" or positive energies, that which acts for evil or acts for good, on behalf of one spiritual force or another.  What influence do we want in our lives?  For when we open ourselves, or become vulnerable to, a power or influence that acts against Christ, we are participating in what energies that brings to us.  When we seek to nurture and strengthen the work and presence of the Holy Spirit within us, we are choosing to participate in that which embraces and teaches us about Christ (John 14:26).  When speaking in terms of how the spiritual world works, we must remember we're not talking about the secular, every day world of human beings who have all kinds of complicated problems and influences competing with one another -- and often at the same time!  This world of the demonic involves fallen angels, with an entirely different nature than human beings have, and a different intelligence that operates in different ways.  In this picture of spiritual realities, human beings, and our world, become battlegrounds competing for hearts and minds and souls, and this is an ongoing struggle, an unceasing battle.  We may not find it possible to even conceive of how to function within such a struggle, but that's why we have help.  This is why Christ has come into our world to help us and guide us, and to leave us with a Helper, the Holy Spirit.  We don't need to understand it all; we don't have the intelligence of beings created as angels.  We are meant to pursue a life through time, learning gradually, coming to a repentance, and making our way as best we can, including lots of mistakes and combating imperfection and partial understanding and knowledge.  This is why we're not the judges, but we seek to follow He who will judge.  Thus, Jesus' teaching in today's reading about unclean spirits and the importance of our own vigilance in our faith and choices, and guarding our hearts for the influences we want and don't want.  Moreover, so important is this to Christ's mission, that He speaks to us of His family as "whoever does the will of My Father in heaven." We become "sons" or "children" of God by adoption through grace and -- importantly for Christ in the context of this teaching -- by truly living our faith, and thus part of Christ's family.  Let us remember once again that Jesus is speaking to men who know the Scriptures perhaps better than any others in His community, among the Jews of Christ's time, and spent their time debating and studying them.  But they cannot see nor know Him for the envy of their positions in the society takes the place of a heart open to the influence of God, the reality He brings into the world.  Jesus will elaborate far more on the problems of the Pharisees and scribes in chapter 23 of St. Matthew's Gospel.  Let us heed His words for ourselves, and the choices we seek to make in our lives, the living of our faith in this world and whose will we seek to please.  Our spiritual journey in life is to move toward Christ.  Let us bear that in mind as we read through the Gospel.

 

 

 

 

 

Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother

 

 "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 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 

 

On Saturday, we read that Jesus continued in His confrontation with the Pharisees who had accused Him of casting out demons by the power of the ruler of the demons.  He told them, "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 comments 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 106:34-39.  So, therefore we guard our hearts.  My study Bible adds that unless there is full repentance and the Holy Spirit dwells in a person, an expelled demon will return with others and occupy its abode.  

 

 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 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."  Christ's relatives have not yet understood His identity and mission, my study Bible explains.  Christ points to a spiritual family which is based on obedience to the will of My Father.  In tradition usage among the Jews (and still today across the Middle East), brother could indicate any number of relations.  Abram referred to his nephew Lot as "brother" (Genesis 14:14); Boaz called his cousin Elimelech his "brother" (Ruth 4:3); and Joab called his cousin Amasa "brother" (2 Samuel 20:9).   In this context we understand that Christ had no blood brothers, as Mary had only one Son:  Jesus.  These brothers He refers to are either stepbrothers (that is, sons of Joseph by a previous marriage), or they are cousins.  As additional evidence of this, we know that Jesus committed His mother to the care of St. John ("the disciple whom He loved") at the Cross (John 19:25-27).  Such a thing would have been unthinkable if Mary had other children of her own to care for her.  

 

 Jesus points to a community, and more than a community, when He speaks of His brother and sister and mother in today's reading.  He extends community into even closer relationship by such references as those terms in speaking of "whoever does the will of My Father in heaven."  Often in modern understanding, we fail to grasp correctly what sacrifice was in the context of ancient religions.  A sacrifice was a communal meal, in which the community shared their goods not just with one another, but with their God (or gods).  In the Jewish context, this was the point of the sacrifices in the temple, as it was in pagan cultures as well.  The whole point was community and the relations within the community; in the Jewish context this meant the covenant with Yahweh, but also the ameliorating of the effects of sin on and within the community.  But from ancient times, human beings did not rely upon blood nor physical kinship to determine community; more common was a common code or creed, linked to worship, which determined customs and norms.  Families were a building block of such societies with these community bonds.  In this context Jesus speaks of His mother and sister and brother as those who do "the will of My Father in heaven."  This serves to underscore the deep need we have in today's societies through our own worship and communion in Christ.  His own sacrifice on the Cross -- His body and blood -- serves literally and figuratively as Communion, our communal meal (see Matthew 26:26-29; John 6:50-59).  Today people often find common interest, political affiliation, physical family gathering according to blood, even DNA, national identity, and other types of shared participation to define themselves in the world.  But Christ here offers us something which He tells us is deeper than DNA, deeper than family kinship -- or perhaps more significant in spiritual terms that define who we are and give us a heritage He offers, and that is to be committed to doing the will of our Father in heaven.  This becomes our communion, in which we find brothers, sisters, mothers, as we follow Christ.  It is meant to be a bond of love, for God is love, and this is the bedrock of our existence as God's creatures.  We may look in a million different places to find kinship, a community, a sense of belonging.  But ultimately Christ offers us a love that surpasses and transcends all else, even when all else may let us down, or worse, lead us astray.  For we are not merely flesh and blood; we are also souls.  Without the soul, there is no life in the body.  See also Matthew 16:26.  In Christ, then, we find our community, in this common bond seeking to do the Father's will.  We know of His love for us, His sacrifice for us, and for the life of the world.  Let us root ourselves in His communion, for the reality of God who is love, and God's grace, is the solid bedrock upon which we wish to build our lives.

 

 

 

For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother

 

 "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 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 responding to the Pharisees' charge that He cast out demons by the power of demons, which He called blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.  He said, "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.  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 comments that when the Israelites were delivered out of Egypt, they did not repent of their impure ways, and hence an unclean spirit took up residence in their hearts (Deuteronomy 31:20; Psalm 106:34-39).  So, therefore we guard our hearts, and keep this as an important practice.  It continues, "Unless there is full repentance and the Holy Spirit dwells in a person, an expelled demon will return with others and reoccupy its abode."  

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 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."  My study Bible comments that Christ's relatives have not yet understood His identity and mission.  He points here to a spiritual family, which is based on obedience to the will of My Father.  We should also keep in mind that the term brothers in this passage can indicate any number of relations, if we go by the way it is used in Scripture.  Abram called his nephew Lot "brother" in Genesis 14:14; Boaz referred to his cousin Elimelech as his "brother" (Ruth 4:3); and Joab called his cousin Amasa his "brother" (2 Samuel 20:9).  It says that Christ Himself had no blood brothers; Mary had only one Son, Jesus.  The brothers which are mentioned here are either stepbrothers (that is, sons of Joseph by a previous marriage), or cousins.  The truth of this becomes apparent when we observe that Jesus committed His mother to the care of John (the "beloved disciple") at the Cross (John 19:25-27).  This would have been unthinkable if Mary had other children to care for her.

In some sense, we can see Jesus in today's reading as pleading with these religious leaders.  It might not sound like it, but He is Savior, and as such all that He does is an attempt to save.  While these men to whom He speaks might not even be capable of "hearing" Him spiritually, there are still others who are listening, and His ministry and words will remain for posterity.  In the first verses of today's reading, Jesus is explaining to them the fullness of the risks of refusal for repentance.  Often we think of repentance in modern terms as requiring sackcloth and ashes, a dismal face, a grim disposition.  But we should not think of it this way.  That is because, above all, repentance is simply a willingness to reconsider, to listen again, and open one's heart and mind, and to change one's mind.  (This is literally the meaning of the Greek word for repent, metanoia/μετανοια, to change one's mind.)   Jesus gives an extremely unsettling warning to these men in the form of a teaching of unclean spirits -- the things we may be healed from through exorcism (such as Jesus performs).  But without a continual vigilance in terms of taking in and actually practicing the things we've learned, such spirits return with a vengeance.  While not everyone in a modern context will understand the terms unclean spirit as a type of being, I think we can all observe the reality of how concepts and ideas work in our minds, what we hold dear to our hearts and souls, and what we are willing to change -- and make a commitment to that change.  Anyone who has ever practiced a Twelve Step program would be familiar with this; vigilance is necessary for continued benefits to one's life of the change to sobriety.  Nothing is a one-minute fix, no matter how good our resolutions are.  In this case, Jesus is warning the Pharisees about their own choices here, and that they are sliding more deeply in spiritual trouble by fixing their minds and refusing what He offers.  He teaches a similar principle in His great summing up of criticisms against this religious establishment which He will make in chapter 23.  Jesus tells them, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves."  This is another example of what it is to continue traveling down the same mistaken road, for this is the way that ideas and concepts work within us.  Unless we put in a correction in our thinking, we do not stand still.  We will continue down a mistaken road, and so our "disciples" will be "twice the sons of hell" that we are.  This example of the demonic returning to a clean and swept place is an illustration of that principle and how it works within a single person, or perhaps even a group of people.  If we don't take correction seriously -- and as part of the love of God to heal us -- then we're just going to continue down a wrong road, further along toward a false and mistaken destination.  The contrast to that direction -- the correction, the remedy, the antidote --  is "the will of My Father in heaven."  This is the road we need to be on.  As part of His love, Jesus gives us this truth.   The question remains for us whether or not we can accept it.