God’s Family

Jesus said to them in reply, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it.” Luke 8:21

How clear this verse is. Jesus is not rejecting his mother and other relatives who came to see Him. Whomever hears the Word of God and obeys it, He emphasizes, are part of His new family. It is not determined by blood lines but spiritual kinship. God intervened in human history to establish a covenant relationship with man. If we want that for ourselves, we need to be like Mary, and have her disposition. In Luke 1:38, an angel gave her the amazing news that she will conceive and give birth to a son even if she was a virgin. She responded without hesitation, “I am the Lord’s servant. May your word to me be fulfilled.” If we are able to say this to our Father, and love and follow Him with our heart and mind, spirit, soul and body, we will have a share in His divine calling. 

Today is the feast day of Saint Andrew Kim Tae-gŏn and Saint Paul Chŏng Ha-sang and their companions who were beheaded in Korea for being Christians. The government in Korea tried to suppress the spread of Christianity, and over ten thousand believers were martyred, because these men and women were willing to die instead of snuffing out the light of the Good News. Today the Church in Korea is one of the most vibrant and fastest growing in the world. Official data shows that more than 45% of South Koreans practice no religion, that about 22% are Buddhists, and that 29.2% are Christians. There are a total of 20,000 Christian churches in Korea, all because of the Korean scholars who were baptized in China long ago, and believed in Jesus fervently that they spread the faith in their homeland. They are all part of Jesus’ new family. Can we do the same?