“My mother and my brother are those who hear the Word of God and do it.”

Here Jesus makes a simple observation. It only involves two steps, hearing followed by doing. And yet we often find it the hardest thing in the world to move from the one to the other.

There are reasons for this. One is simply the force of habit. Another a tendency to spiritual laziness. Forgetfulness might be added here. As James of old remarked, we are often like those who look at our face in a mirror and then walk away and immediately forget what we had learned there in front of the mirror. Distraction is another challenge we face. Our attention simply drifts somewhere else. Even worse is when we find ourselves afflicted by a stubborn willfulness. We might obey, but we don’t really want to.

It is this two step tango, however, which Jesus labels the family dance. Dance this dance and you really belong. In fact, it is the only true measure of belonging.