Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, here are my mother and my brothers — the gesture is as important as the words: Jesus looks at the crowd seated around him and names them as his family. The circle around him is the physical form of the community he is defining — people gathered around Jesus, oriented toward him, in his presence. The here are my mother and brothers names them into relationship: these are not disciples at a formal distance but family in intimate proximity. The kingdom community is not an organization to join but a family to belong to, with the relational bonds that family implies: loyalty, care, mutual obligation, and shared identity.

COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS

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