10th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Genesis 3: 9-;J5 2 Cor: 4: 13-5,1;

Mark 3: 20-35

 All religions have stories which portray the beginning of the world. Genesis invites us 10 imagine a garden where there was complete hannony between man and woman, between human beings and God, only spoiled when the woman is tempted under the promise that when she eats the forbidden fruit, "your eyes will be opened, and you will be like gods, knowing good and evil." As a result, our first parents are banished from Paradise and condemned to make do in a world which is no longer under their authority ... they've become the first refugees in an alien world!

And that is the result of all sin: it banishes us from friendship with God, to a greater or lesser degree, depen­ dent upon whether our sin is mortal or venial. As we know from our Catechism, mortal kills the immortal life of grace in the soul, while venial sin wounds and weakens it. That life can then only be restored through the Sacrament of God's forgiveness, instituted by Christ Himself when He gave His apostles the power to forgive sin when He told

. them, "whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven ... whose sin you shall retain, they are retained." Only then can we be restored to God's love and His life of grace and once more become part of His family.

In the Gospel, as Jesus' relations arrive and stand outside listening to His teaching, He probably catches sight of them, and poses that mysterious question: "who are My brothers and sisters?" He then makes it clear that His real family isn't determined by blood relationships, but by faithfulness to the will of His Father.

So the Good News is that we are part of Jesus' new family - His mother and brothers and sisters - if we do His will. While doing God's will may alienate us from our own family, the witness of Jesus points us back.to a more important relationship. And that's why we gather each week as a family of faith, to bless our Father, and gain strength from our brothers and sisters.