Rev.
Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.
DOING
THE WILL OF GOD IS THE ULTIMATE WAY TO BELONG TO GOD'S FAMILY
Reflecting
on my relationship with God, family and neighbours, I asked myself which one
comes first, because all are so important. As we know having a sense of
belonging is fundamental to human happiness and well-being, for it gives value
to our life and helps us in coping with some painful emotions. Hence, we often
want to belong with one another, to our friends and families, to our culture or
from one association to another. However, one of the common and safest places to
belong is our families, especially when it is rooted in the love of God and
neighbour.
So,
today in our Gospel passage, Jesus speaks about belonging to his family and his
relationship with members of his family when he said: ‘Here are my mother and
my brothers. Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven, he is my brother
and sister and mother.’ In the Gospel, Jesus speaks of two ways the people
around him could be identified as members of his family. Firstly he talks about
those who belong to the family of his birth that is, his mother, father and
relations. Then his other family is made up of those who do the will of
God.
This family he says, is his true family where
doing the will of God is the only way of belonging to this family. This is not
to say that Jesus is rejecting his family; to do so would contradict his teaching about loving one's parents and loving one's neighbours. However,
Jesus is using this opportunity to emphasize that relationship with God is more
important and this should depend on our total commitment to doing the will of
God through him.
Surprisingly,
Mary the mother of Jesus belongs to both sides of the family, for she gave
birth to Jesus and was also the first to do the will of God when she said, “Let it be done unto me according to
your word” (Luke 1:38). For this reason she is the first disciple of Jesus and
a model for all Christians.
Thus,
to be a Christian or a disciple is to enter into the family of Jesus and
embrace a new relationship with God and with one another for this is the most
important place to belong. All other bonds, including those of blood, should be
considered secondary. Because, belonging to God is fundamental to our basic
relationships, before all human relations. We belong first to God
before belonging to our families, after which we all go back to God where we
ultimately belong, which is determined by how we have been doing God’s will
here on earth.
Dear
friends, where do we ultimately and truly belong? As Christians, we claim to
belong to God, do our attitudes and decisions show that we truly belong to God?
Do we not often commit ourselves to things contrary to the faith we professed
in God? Can we say that we are truly doing the will of God? What have we been
doing with the word of God we hear every day? What kind of fruit are we bearing
in our family and society? How has the word of God changed our life and
disposition towards our family? How has the word of God challenged and
propelled us to love God and our neighbours? The answers to these questions are
blowing in the wind.
Today
we are called to be more practical and attentive towards obeying the
commandment of God. We are called to put into action the words we hear every day.
Let us learn from David in our first reading today who knowing the importance
of doing the will of God went and brought the ark of God up from Obed-edom’s house to the
Citadel of David with great rejoicing with a sacrifice of praise.
LET US
PRAY: Lord God, today we are called to do your will always in order to truly
belong to that true family of Jesus where the love of you and our neighbour
unites us together. Grant that we may learn to do your will and be good collaborators with others in the mission and vocation entrusted to us. We ask
this through Christ our Lord. Do have a blessed day.
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