July 22, 2013. Homily, July 23, 2013.

Matthew 12:46-50.

While Jesus was speaking to the crowds, his mother and his brothers appeared outside, wishing to speak with him. Someone told him, "Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, asking to speak with you." But he said in reply to the one who told him, "Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?" And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and mother."


Saint Bridget of Sweden.  

Born 1303 in Sweden, died at Rome in 1373. 
Married and had eight children, devoted mother, after husband's death, devoted herself to the ascetic life as a member of the Third Order of Saint Francis, then started a religious order, made penitential pilgrimage to Rome, was a model of great virtue to all, wrote many works about her mystical experiences.


A parable of Jesus is a container made of words. We pour into it what we know from our life experiences and we pour our of it what we need. So here, we have our own experience of our mother and our brothers and our sisters and of those times when they have disturbed us at our work and our reactions to that.  But this is Jesus and the mother of Jesus and the reaction of Jesus to His mother, and we know that the mother of Jesus is the perfect vessel of the will of God, for when God through the archangel Gabriel asked for her obedience she said "Yes".  And we know that Jesus loved His mother and that His mother's life was to do the will of God.  We saw that at the wedding feast of Cana, when she asked the help of Jesus, and Jesus said, "Woman, my time has not yet come" and Mary said to the servants, "Do whatever he asks." And Jesus asked the servant to fill the water vessels and then performed the miracle of water into wine.  And so here, Jesus answers the messenger by elevating the disciples of Jesus, us, to the status of brother of Jesus, sister of Jesus, and even mother of Jesus.