(19) Now Jesus’ mother and brothers came to see him, but they were not able to get near him because of the crowd. (20) Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you.” (21) He replied, “My mother and brothers are those who hear God’s word and put it into practice.”
The 20th of September is the feast of Andrew Kim Taegon and 102 other martyrs of Korea. Christianity began in Korea in the 18th century, but it was only in 1836 that the first Catholic missionaries (Paris Foreign Missions Society) arrived. The Joseon Dynasty which then ruled Korea, however, did not take kindly to this development and banned Christianity. Andrew, born in 1821, was the son of converts, and his father had himself suffered martyrdom. In spite of this, Andrew decided to become a priest and went to Macau (then a Portuguese colony) and the Philippines for his studies. Ordained in 1844 in Shanghai, he returned to Korea to preach and administer to the faithful. Unfortunately, he arrived during a particularly fierce persecution of Christianity, and was forced into hiding. However, in 1846, he was captured, tortured and beheaded at the young age of 25. He and the other martyrs of Korea were canonized by John Paul II. He is the patron saint of the Korean clergy.
The gospel for their today is a particularly short one and may seem very harsh to us. Of course, this is not meant as an attack on Jesus’ family. Jesus does not appear to have said this in front of them but rather to a group of followers. Luke has continually presented Mary in a very positive light and other members of his family play a role in Acts. So, neither Luke nor Jesus means this as a criticism. Certainly, as Henry Wansbrough points out in his book on Luke, Mary is the perfect example of someone who listens to the word of God and puts it into practice.
It has to be remembered that at the time, the family was the primary unit of society and of a person’s allegiance. Jesus, however, was not considered someone really respectable and following him often meant a break with one’s family. Jesus’ point is simple: he has created a new family of disciples and that family takes precedence over the biological one. “Those who hear God’s word and put it into practice” are part of this family. This is a very fitting gospel for the martyrs of Korea, who found themselves rejected by their own country and often by their own family. But they found a greater, universal family in Christ.
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