Smoke, Supper, & Scripture: Meditations

This reflection was born one evening in my backyard, standing at the grill with supper cooking. My wife Rachel was nearby, and with us was my brother — not by birth, but by choice. As the smoke lifted into the air, I found myself thinking about family: how we define it, and how God defines it. That thought led me to the words of Yeshua in Mark 3:32 — 35.

We will ask questions that sometimes must be answered individually, as they differ from person to person.

Join me as we learn together.

Mark 3:32 — 35 (ESV)

32 And a crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers are outside, seeking you.”

33 And he answered them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?”

34 And looking about at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers!

35 For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.”

First things first: Yeshua does what He so often does, the unexpected. He turns an ordinary interruption into a deeply personal, deeply human lesson.

Picture Him reclining, surrounded by people, when the message comes: “Your mother and brothers are outside.” Instead of simply acknowledging them, He responds with the surprising question: “Who are my mother and my brothers?”

The messenger must have been dumbstruck. What could have been an everyday exchange suddenly became a doorway to something higher. Yeshua elevates their perspective, and ours, with an unconventional question at an unexpected time. He redirects attention heavenward, leading toward unity.

Here is what I’ve learned: the very moment we think we’ve figured out how God works is often the moment He surprises us. Yeshua does the same thing here. He challenges the cultural assumption that blood relatives receive preferential treatment, and instead declares that all who follow God are equally family in His eyes.

He breaks mundane expectation (vv. 32 — 33).

He breaks cultural norms, refusing clichés and custom.

Then He elevates, pointing us to the truth: that family in the Spirit surpasses family in the flesh.

This is not rejection of His mother or siblings; it is elevation. He reveals that family is forged and bound in the Spirit, and that this family is eternal.

So let us sit with that thought for a moment:

We are Family,

When joined by the Holy Spirit.

We globally are One:

With Him,

With me,

With you,

In Yeshua,

Through the Glue of the Everlasting Spirit.

Unity more than flesh and bone.

Purpose in passion preached.

Bound in soul by the Spirit,

Identified as we are Unified.

These are just my reflections on this scripture. There is always more to uncover. Perhaps they are even the foolish ramblings of a trans meathead, but if so, may they still point us back to Him.

As always, this is Dust,

For you,

To you,

From Him,

In me.

If this reflection spoke to you, consider sharing it with someone you call family — by blood or by choice. They may need the reminder that we are all bound in the Spirit as one.