Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Gospel Thoughts Today: We Are Family

At my mother's 70th birthday party (late 90s), the DJ played a song I will always remember as a shining moment when I think of her. The song was "We Are Family" by Sister Sledge.

We are family
I got all my sisters with me
We are family
Get up everybody and sing
We are family
I got all my sisters with me
We are family
Get up everybody and sing

Having all my sisters present, we grabbed my mother and started dancing to this wonderfully upbeat song. Once we were up dancing, having a good time, our friends and family began to join us. Last month my youngest daughter and I were at my great niece's wedding in California. All my sisters were once again together, after 10 years. Toward the end of the reception, as we all sat at our family table, the first two notes of this song had us all up and running toward the dance floor! After the "sisters" were up dancing, all our family members (most of them female!) joined us as we sang the words at the top of our lungs! We may all live in different places across the US, but we are family. There was so much love at that moment, I felt truly blessed to be a part of it.

Lay apostles, we are all brothers and sisters in Christ. Whether related by blood or circumstances, we must not forget the lesson in today's Gospel (Matthew 12:46-50) . . . through Christ, we are family:

While Jesus was speaking to the crowds, his mother and his brothers appeared outside, wishing to speak with him. Someone told him, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, asking to speak with you.” But he said in reply to the one who told him, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and mother.”

In Volume Ten, Jesus vividly describes His love for His Family:

"Consider how important each soul is to Me. Consider Me, Jesus, in the form of My humanity. As I suffered anguish in the Garden, I was tempted with every form of temptation. Let us say that the enemy offered Me every soul on earth but one. For stepping away from the chance of saving this one soul, I could escape the cross. Add to the consideration that this one soul might reject Me and be lost anyway. Would I be tempted? Would you? Now consider that this one soul was yours. What do you think I would say? I assure you, My beloved, I said NO. Do not hold back from Me, little servants. Do not sidestep the Divine Will. Your family needs you and I need you."

Lay apostles, we must treat others with the love and mercy Christ shows us. Even when we reject Him, He continues to have hope for our souls. So why wouldn't we give others the same? Christ was rejected often, and ultimately, died for even those who did the rejecting. So today, look past the rejection and see before you a child of God. Makes it a little easier to accept when looking through the eyes of Jesus.

Thank you, Lord, for the gift of family. Despite all the dysfunction, I am so blessed to have people to love and who love me.

God bless,
Bonnie

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