Jesus often set out to change the mindset of the Jews and of everyone who would believe in him. He did this be suggesting a higher criterion for understanding everything, whether it was the Law of Moses, or family relationships, or the notion of "chosen people", or attitudes to sinners, to women, to the sick, the outcasts and the marginalized.

We remember his Sermon on the Mount, as he re-interpreted the Law by demanding a higher standard: hatred was to be regarded as serious as murder. We remember the story of the Prodigal Son. We remember that he gave us a new commandment, not merely to love others as we love ourselves, but to love each other as he loved us.

It will help us to understand today's Gospel passage if we read it against this background. Jesus is not by any means rejecting human relationships. He did not come to destroy the Law, and the fourth commandment demanded respect for parents and all that such respect entailed. He came to fulfil the Law, and he did this by demanding higher standards. So it is not mere physical or familial relationships which are important for Christians, but also the bond of faith within the community of the Church.