Mary, the mother of Jesus, was first and foremost a disciple. In fact, we refer to her as the first of the disciples since she was the first to hear the angel's description of who her divine son was, and she was the first to say yes to following his will.
The gospel passage for today also proposes another of the lessons in discipleship that this remarkable woman was invited to learn. In turn, we too must open our hearts to the lesson contained here. Jesus was speaking to the crowds on a particular day, presumably teaching them about the kingdom, when his mother and brothers appeared outside, wishing to speak with him (Mt 12:46). It is interesting to note that this passage begins with Mary and others wanting to speak with Jesus. They had a prayer to offer, much as we might approach our prayer, but in this case, it was not human prayer that was most important, but rather the divine word: Whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister and mother (Mt 12:50).
How often do we come to Jesus intent on presenting our prayer? In the beginning, we are the ones who want to speak with God, but as prayer becomes more and more a part of our daily routine, we will discover that the words we hear in the silence of prayer are far more important than any word that we ourselves might utter. Words heard in the depth of the heart continually offer lessons: they teach us how to discover the will of our heavenly Father, and they invite us to say yes to following his will.
Have a great day.
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