Gospel (Mk 3,31-35) - At that time, the mother of Jesus and her brothers arrived and, standing outside, sent for him. A crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him, “Behold, your mother and your brothers and your sisters are outside looking for you.” But he answered them, "Who is my mother and who are my brothers?" Looking at those who were sitting around him, he said: «Here are my mother and my brothers! Because whoever does the will of God is brother, sister and mother to me."

The commentary on the Gospel by Monsignor Vincenzo Paglia

While Jesus is speaking to the crowds, his relatives arrive with Mary, his mother. The evangelist does not clarify the reason for the visit. But it is not difficult to imagine that perhaps they were worried about what was considered excessive behavior by Jesus. The crowd was huge and they had remained "outside". This notation is not simply spatial. Those relatives were "outside", that is, they were not among those who were listening to Jesus' preaching. It is not blood ties or ritual customs that lead to being true family members of Jesus. Only those who are inside the house, who they listen to the Word of God, they are part of the new family that Jesus came to form. To those who tell him that his mother and his other brothers were outside the house, Jesus indicates who is part of his new family, of the Church: those who listen to the Gospel. It is from this listening that the Christian community is born and it is therefore on the Word of God that it is built. And this community is not just any association. It has the traits of the "family", that is, with those ties which are therefore called "family". The members must live the fraternal relationships typical of the family, starting with the Father who is in heaven, whom Jesus invites to call "Abba", and then with Jesus himself and with all the other brothers and sisters. Being a disciple requires listening attentively and promptly to the words of Jesus and involving one's life with him. Every day we must go “inside” the community and listen to the Gospel as it is preached. We need to be next to Jesus every day and listen to and put his words into practice.