Then his mother and his brothers came to him but were unable to join him because of the crowd. He was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside and they wish to see you.” He said to them in reply, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it.”   

The group Lifehouse begins their song “You And Me” this way: “What day is it, and in what month. This clock never seemed so alive—I can’t keep up and I can’t back down. I’ve been losing so much time cause it’s you and me and all other people. Nothing to do, nothing to lose, and it’s you and me and all other people and I don’t know why I can’t keep my eyes off of you.” The person in the song is totally in love, and nothing else seems to matter—time, people, everything. 

Scripture theologians argue about the make-up of Jesus’ family, and exactly what the term “brother” means in the Scriptures. But whatever the meaning of the term, it is clear from the Scriptures that Jesus’ family, and especially his mother stayed close to him throughout his public ministry. In fact, as we center in on Mary, the mother of Jesus, we see a person who was totally in love with her son, so much so that nothing else mattered for her. She was the original person who heard the word of God and acted on it.

As one studies love, in the first century as well as the twenty-first, when one is in love, while feeling good is obvious, such love also leads to vulnerability—people in love can be hurt easily. Mary is the perfect example.
 
The group Lifehouse’s song “You and Me” is a romantic love song, but love in our world must be understood to go further than romantic love. In truth, in whatever form love appears, people in love can be hurt—the love relationship does not work out, one of the parties falls “out of love,” or one of the parties suffers while the other has to watch and do nothing about it. It is true that for people in love hardly anything else matters other than the love relationship, but people in love must always be aware of the possibility of suffering and pain as a result of the love. Such a thought should not keep us from showing and developing love, however.                       

THOUGHT
 
PRAYER

Good and gracious God, our world has been blessed with many examples of people who show true love for others. Your servant, Mary, the mother of your Son was one of them. Help us learn from her and from all of those in this world who have shown love. Be with us, we pray.

Questions, comments? Let me know. Email Fr. Mike

©2007 Capuchin Province of Mid-America
Fr. Mike Scully is a member of the Capuchin Province of Mid-America