A Reflection for the Memorial of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Find today’s readings here.
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.” (Mt 12:49-50)
A few weeks ago, one of my best friends ran the New York City Marathon. While she was training in the months leading up to the race, she sustained an injury. It would have been easy (and understandable) for her to drop out or push it off to next year, but she was determined to finish the marathon even if she had to walk, even if it took all day. Her community had helped her raise money for a cause close to her heart, and she wasn’t going to give up.
I came into race day with some trepidation for her, and I tried not to have any expectations. If she had to stop midway through, that would be O.K. If we were waiting for her at the finish line even hours after the course had been taken down, well, then that’s where we would be.
But she finished the race. And not only that, but our little group of friends put in some miles of our own as we stopped to see her several times along the five-borough route. Each time we found her along the way, I stepped back to just watch—hugs, tears, laughs, cheers from her family and from us. One friend jumped in to run/walk her through one of her final miles. When she made it to the finish line, I was blown away as I looked at the smile on her face and at the beauty of our little community. We’re not related by blood, but the people there felt like family—and family I’m proud to have. I don’t just like them, I realized in that moment; I really, really admire them and their goodness.
This is what I had in mind when I read what Jesus has to say in today’s Gospel about what we might call “chosen family.” He challenges our notions of what a family can be, broadening it to include not only blood relatives but also his disciples, saying: “Whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and mother.”
It hit me: He is paying the disciples a beautiful compliment, recognizing the good he has seen in them through their shared time together as friends. They are living out God’s will, and thus he is connected to them the way you connect to family.
My friends, in their determination and in their support of one another, show me how to not only love like family but also how to love like God. They’re like family not just because I like them, but because their goodness is an undeniable blessing in my life.
