Grace and Space

Lk 8:19-21

Hear and act: Luke’s source for the short three-verse section concerning Jesus and his family is Mark’s Gospel (3:31-35). However, Luke has reworked the section and considerably softened the Marcan portrait of Jesus’ natural family.
In Mark, Jesus’ family thinks, “He is out of his mind” (3:21), so they “set out to seize him.” Luke omits this perspective as he has already portrayed Mary as God’s obedient servant, one who has heard the word and acted on it. The family is held up by Luke as an example of what it means to hear the word of God and act on it. People who want to belong to Jesus’ family must hear and obey the word of God.
Luke’s community is not formed of those who have any physical relationship to Jesus; it is made up of those who hear the word (as presented in the parable of the sower, its explanation, and the parable of the lamp) and, then, act on what has been heard. Being able to trace a blood-line to Jesus is not important to Luke; what is important is hearing and acting on the word of God. The person who hears and acts on the word is an authentic member of the family of Jesus.