The mother of Jesus and his brethren came; and standing outside they sent to him and called him. And a crowd was sitting about him; and they said to him, "Your mother and your brethren are outside, asking for you." And he replied, "Who are my mother and my brethren?" And looking around on those who sat about him, he said, "Here are my mother and my brethren! Whoever does the will of God is my brother, and sister, and mother." -St. Mark 3:31-35
In this brief passage from the Gospel we hear our Lord Jesus expanding the idea of kinship, of what it is to be part of a family, that it isn’t just a matter of flesh and blood. Now certainly, we should understand that Jesus wasn’t minimizing family ties. In fact, the teaching of the Church is very clear about the obligation that parents have to care for their children, and the obligation that children have to honour their parents. But here Jesus is developing and building upon this as He speaks about the larger family; namely, the family of God.
Our Lord teaches that true kinship is based upon a common obedience. He says, “...whoever does the will of God is my brother, and sister, and mother.” His band of disciples was a mixed group, as is the Church today, but we are bound together because we choose to obey Jesus as our master. People can truly come to love one another when they share a common love of the Lord Jesus Christ.