There are some groups of people who always refer to each other as 'brother' or 'sister'. They are not necessarily religious groups (trade unions, for example, have traditionally done so), but they recognise a common interest that links members closely together both in their reflection and their communal activity. It is, too, a particularly Christian thing to call each other 'brother' or 'sister', especially when we pray and worship together, if not always in ordinary conversation. These words are found often in the New Testament books, and perhaps most famously in the lines of St Mark's gospel we listen to today.

Calling each other 'brother' or 'sister' may perhaps sometimes sound rather artificial. Perhaps also those people who told Jesus that His mother and relatives were waiting outside for Him may have felt His reply rather strange, artificial, or even dismissive. But the strong statement Jesus was making was about the word of God; that the word of God, listened to and accepted is a power and a bond greater than any other link or force between human beings. His own mother's greatness and relationship to Him, He was saying, isn't in the physical maternal bond of His human birth but in her reception of God's word, her welcome and acceptance of it.

Accepting God's word unites us together in a way beyond normal perceptions or imaging.