The holy family
The Nativity is a familiar scene. We all know who should be there: Mary and Joseph around the manger which holds the infant Jesus. There may also be one or more angels, a handful of shepherds, a selection of farm animals (although there is no mention of any animals in the Bible accounts) and even some wise men (although they can’t have been there at the same time as the shepherds). I recently saw a beautiful Nativity scene with a smart red post box! Whatever else may or not be there, there will always be ‘the holy family’: Mary, Joseph and Jesus.
How revealing, then, to discover whom Jesus himself regards as his holy family once he is grown up. The story is told in Mark chapter 3. His mother and brothers come “to take charge of him”, saying that, “he is out of his mind.” Never a good way to think of Jesus! And his response is most revealing: he looks at those sitting around him, listening to his words, and says, “Here are my mother and brothers! Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”
Notice that doing God’s will means being with Jesus and listening to him. Notice also that, if we do that, Jesus regards us as his holy family. What a privilege, to be ‘the holy family’! In fact, we are more his family than those who might be physically related to him but aren’t interested in being with him and listening to what he says.