In the religions of the ancient world, animal sacrifices were a regular and accepted part of divine worship. It was at the centre of Israel's worship, but the prophets repeatedly insisted that God did not desire blood sacrifices. God was instead seeking the sacrifice of the heart - putting aside one's desires and inclinations and seeking to do only the will of God. By His own self-sacrifice, Jesus abolished blood sacrifices forever. We now desire only what God desires. It might appear that Jesus was being disrespectful towards His family. They wanted to see and talk to Him, but He insisted that His family was much larger than that. Anyone who does the will of God the Father is mother, brother, and sister to Jesus - and to all of us. Jesus expanded the notion of family - to the human family, the family of the children of God. Any sort of hate, prejudice, unkindness, or exclusion violates this relationship. Let us try to view all as our brother or sister - the results might be surprising!