Introduction
Those of us who in one way or another devote ourselves to the Bible, we often say that the first commandment (or rather, the first word of salvation in the Decalogue) is “Shema, Israel”, that is, “Listen, Israel” (Dt 6,4).
The importance of listening
How to know the will of the Father, his plan of happiness for the human being, his children, if we do not listen to his Word? Therefore, listening to the Word is indispensable, a bit like studying the map and observing the compass, if we want to reach the desired goal: to be happy here and, at the same time, walk towards our Promised Land, full happiness .
The spiritual family of Jesus
It is in this context that we can better understand a passage that often confuses us. The evangelist Luke tells us (8,19-21) that “the mother and brothers of Jesus went to find him” (relatives) and someone warns Jesus that they are looking for him and that they want to see him. To which Jesus, according to the evangelist Matthew (12.46-50), opens a question: “Who is my mother and who are my brothers?”
A priori this seems like a complete disregard. But is it possible for Jesus to belittle his Mother Mary? The all-good and all-merciful Jesus we know would not despise his mother. It is not possible!
But then, if it is not possible, if we have to rule out this possibility, how do we find a way out of this dilemma? Let’s see what else Jesus says: “He who does the will of my Father in heaven, this is my brother, my sister, my mother.”
In no way does he tell us that his Mother does not hear or fulfill the Word of God and is therefore excluded from “his spiritual family”. On the contrary, Jesus does not reduce, limit or exclude. What Jesus does, in clear coherence with the “Shemà-Listen”, is to extend his family to all those who listen to the Word of God.
conclusion
Once again, the connection between the Old Testament and the New allows us to find keys to understanding that get us out of “dead ends”.
