"Sie verstanden ihn nicht" - Predigt von Weihbischof Rolf Steinhäuser

On the feast day of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Auxiliary Bishop Rolf Steinhäuser interpreted the Gospel in Cologne Cathedral as "Jesus' provocative question: 'Who is my mother and who are my brothers?'" His family, and even his mother Mary, "no longer understood him." The trained carpenter from Nazareth suddenly preached publicly, healed, gathered disciples, and broke with conventions, "until they considered him 'out of his mind' and wanted to 'bring him home by force.'" But Jesus "does not relativize the family, but redefines it," Auxiliary Bishop Steinhäuser continued, repeating Jesus' words from the Gospel: "Whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother." "The new family of Jesus is not constituted by blood, but by obedience to God." Steinhäuser emphasized: "We can all belong to this family." Not through marriage or adoption, but by doing God's will." As an example, he told of a young woman who, during a retreat, "realized that God wanted her completely." Her "simpler, poorer life" led to a fierce conflict with her father, who wanted to provide her with a comfortable life through investments. "It was a bit like Francis, who suddenly no longer fit into his family," said Steinhäuser. The auxiliary bishop invited everyone to "look once more at Mary." "She had to travel a long road to become the mother of Jesus, not only biologically but also spiritually." Despite all the difficulties and disturbing experiences, "she remained with Jesus until the foot of the cross." "She became the first disciple of her son," and "consequently, in his Spiritual Exercises, Ignatius has the Risen Christ appear to Mary first. Whoever walks with Jesus in this way until death will also encounter him as the Living One."