Seeing Jesus’ Words Through the Lens of Gratitude
Gospel Reading
Matthew 12:46-50
NRSV
“While he was still speaking to the crowds, his mother and his brothers were standing outside, wanting to speak to him. Someone told him, ‘Look, your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.’ But to the one who had told him this, Jesus replied, ‘Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?’ And pointing to his disciples, he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.’”
The passage in Matthew where Jesus’ mother and brothers come seeking him can leave many readers puzzled. On the surface, it seems simple enough: his family wants to speak with him while he is teaching inside a house. Yet Jesus’ response—referring to his disciples as his mother and brothers—adds a layer of mystery that can feel confusing. Why would he speak this way? What is he really pointing to?
When approached through the lens of gratitude, the passage opens in a different and more spacious way. Jesus is not creating division or distancing himself from his family. Instead, he is removing hierarchy. He is treating every person with equal dignity, refusing to place one relationship above another. Gratitude helps us see this clearly because gratitude recognises the inherent equality of all people. When we give thanks for love in this present moment, we acknowledge that love is already here, already perfect, already holding each of us without distinction.
Through this lens, Jesus’ words become revolutionary. He cuts through the categories we place on humanity—mother, brother, insider, outsider—and reveals a deeper truth: human equality is grounded in the shared presence of divine love. Gratitude becomes a way of seeing that honours every person as equally created, equally loved, and equally worthy.
And then there is the phrase “doing the will of my Father.” This can feel abstract or even intimidating. Yet in this moment, Jesus has already explained it. To do the will of the Father is simply to love without division, to live fully in the present moment, and to recognise the perfection of love that is already here. When we live life and love life in this present moment, we are doing exactly what we are called to do. Love creates us in our perfection as human beings. This is another way of saying that we are doing God’s will.
In gratitude, we discover that God’s will is not distant or complicated. It is present, simple, and profoundly equalising. It is love, here and now.