The daily Word of God

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

The exclamation of that woman in the crowd is very natural—and very human. Jesus’ captivating words may well have stirred a kind of holy envy in some mothers: “How I wish my son could grow up to be like this prophet!”

But Jesus’ relationship with His relatives wasn’t ideal or free from tension. Everything leads us to believe that once Jesus came of age, He left the family home and set out on a rather unusual path. He didn’t seek out a good wife to bring home to His parents, nor did He find a job that would guarantee a respectable life. On the contrary, He chose an itinerant and risky lifestyle—not with relatives, but with friends or potential partners in His prophetic mission of announcing and making visible the arrival of the Kingdom. He had no possessions, no blood family at His side, no daily security: “The Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head” (Lk 9:58).

This can be seen as heroic, a sign of great inner freedom—but it could also appear simply eccentric. Mark is blunt in his account: “His family came to take charge of Him, for they said, ‘He is out of His mind’” (Mk 3:21). A certain “spiritual modesty” led Matthew and Luke to leave out this line from Mark, but John confirms the family dynamic with his own comment: “Even His own relatives did not believe in Him” (Jn 7:5).

In the Synoptic tradition, with slightly different tones depending on the Gospel, we hear of Mary and Jesus’ relatives standing “outside” and sending for Him (Mk 3:31 and parallels). But Jesus does not go out to greet them or even respond directly. Instead, He sends them a message—indirectly, through someone else. It seems that He and they are walking parallel paths. Perhaps this is the same backstory hinted at in Mk 3:21—they think He’s not quite in His right mind and hope to persuade Him to change His direction and way of life.

Given that context, it’s not surprising that Jesus would downplay the importance of blood ties—after all, they had not led His own family to become enthusiastic believers. Jesus likely applied to Himself, more than once, the old saying about prophets: “A prophet has no honor in his own country” (Mk 6:4 and parallels; Jn 4:44).

The poor woman who tried to praise Jesus’ mother in today’s Gospel probably didn’t expect the answer she got. She might have been stunned—but also comforted. Because Jesus spoke to her of a new kind of kinship, one even closer than blood ties. That offer was made to her—and it’s still open to us today: if we listen to and welcome the Word, we become part of Jesus’ closest and most joyful family.

And of course, the evangelist makes sure to safeguard Mary’s place in all of this. Just a few chapters earlier, he presented her as “the one who treasures the Word and ponders it in her heart” (Lk 2:19).

Your brother,