Today's Gospel

What is the Will of God?

Welcome back to Radical and Relevant, where each day we explore the genius of the gospel, look for ways to live the gospel in practical ways throughout our day. Today's reading is from the Gospel of Mark 3:31-35. Keeping in mind that each day we're looking for a word or a phrase or an idea that the Holy Spirit uses to capture your attention. Jesus' mother 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 brother and my brethren. Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother." So we have two scenes here. We've got the first scene where Jesus' mother and brethren are coming to see him and the second scene where Jesus is teaching to a huge crowd. And in the first scene, obviously, there's a crowd as well because Jesus' mother and brethren can't get to Jesus and they send a message.

Is Jesus being disrespectful of his mother and his brethren? When he says, "Who is my mother and my brethren?" No, he isn't being disrespectful. He's making a point. And what is the point? The point is, whoever does the will of God? That's the point he's trying to make. Whoever does the will of God. And so are we doing the will of God? It's easy to say, "Ah, I don't know what the will of God is." A lot of people might say, "It's impossible to know what the will of God is." And that isn't true. In many, many things, the Will of God is clear. Will of God is clear, certainly through the life and teachings of Jesus. Will of God is clear through the teachings of the church. But in the moments of the day, we all have that little voice within a conscience that wants to lead us and guide us. And God speaks to us through the conscience, tries to guide us, direct us, protect us. And so as we go out into the world today, let's ask ourselves, are we doing the will of God? We come upon a situation. We have to make a decision. We have to act. Let's ask ourselves, let's take a moment. What is the will of God in this situation?

Not just what do I feel like? Not just what is the most convenient, but what does God want in this situation? That's what the Saints did, day after day. They just kept asking, "What does God want? What does God want today?" Have a great day. And remember, Be Bold, Be Catholic.