God’s Will in Our Lives

Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator

"Here I am, Lord, I come to do your will." This phrase becomes our response to the readings for the liturgy today. The passage from the Letter to the Hebrews for today explains that our high priest delivered us from sin by countering the Adam's disobedience of Adam with his own obedience. God sent him to redeem us by sacrificing his life, by accepting the sentence of death, so that we could live forever. Life forever with God was God's purpose in creation and in Jesus' redemptive death.

The Gospel today illustrates what that obedience looks like in day to day living. Jesus' family arrives to greet him while he is preaching. What is Jesus' first priority? While no one would fault him for immediately greeting his mother and his kinsmen, Jesus makes it clear that bringing God's Word to his listeners is first and foremost in his life. He goes on to claim that they are just as much his family.

No one is suggesting that one needs to completely abandon one's family in order to do God's will. However, it is incumbent upon all of us to recognize that our relationship with God must be the priority. After all is said and done, it is that relationship that makes the others possible in the first place.