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Mark 3:20-35

Gospel according to Mark 3:20-35

“Jesus went home, and the crowd came together again, so that they could not even eat. When is family heard it, they went out to restrain him, for people were saying, “He has gone out of his mind.” And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, “He has Beelzebul, and by the ruler of the demons he casts out demons.” And Jesus called them to him and spoke to them in parables. How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but his end has come. But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his property without first tying up the strong man; then indeed the house can be plundered. Truly I tell you, people will be forgiven for their sins and whatever blasphemies they utter; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never have forgiveness but is guilty of ternal sin”—for they had said. “He has an unclean spirit.” Then his mother and his brothers came; and standing outside, they sent to him and called him. The crowd was sitting around him; and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers and sisters are outside, asking for you.” And Jesus replied, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” and looking at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”

Reflections

The Gospel reading of today takes us back to the harsh reality of Jesus’ ministry. He was hard at work, accomplishing the will of the Father that he teaches the people and instructs them in God’s higher ways. And while he was doing this with full dedication and commitment, some did not accept his message. Others may have even become jealous of his success, because there were so many people that wanted to listen to him that there was no time to eat.

Jesus was blessed with the stamina and strength to sustain this load; to go from place to place, speak to whoever was listening, and address people straight as they were and where they were. He spoke from the heart of Truth, and many did not want to listen to this message. The Truth hit them hard, and they preferred to turn away and to harden their hearts, accusing him of sinful disobedience. To make matters more dramatic, they accused him of doing the work of the devil and that his mind had gone insane.

The intention of these rumors was to deflect responsibility to listen, suppress the urge to change anything, avoid responsibility by declaring the message invalid and the messenger unreliable. The motive was to make Jesus unsure, uncertain, and perhaps to shut him down and make him go away. Certainly, ignoring the message, downplaying it, or attributing it as erroneous or coming from the wrong source was on the surface an attempt to shut out the truth, and to discredit its validity.

Word has gone out, rumors were spread that Jesus became mentally ill, and that his mind was clouded by the influence of the devil. That he was performing evil deeds, making it look like using deceit to prove that he was somehow superior or better than them, more capable than them, smarter than them, more successful than them, or more devoted than them.

Yes, one must admit, in front of Jesus’s grandeur there was the tendency to feel insufficient, inadequate and maybe, even a “failure.” The reaction of accusing him, attempting to discredit him or slander him came out as an impulse to destroy what one was not able to compete with, what one could not repeat, or match. The tendency was then to belittle. Criticize. Dehumanize. All because of an inflated ego that wanted to compete and command, argue and demand, instead of listen, obey, submit, or serve. The reaction was impulsive and quick, sarcastic, seemingly even plausible and witty--a comeback of some sort--albeit a desperate attempt to avoid responsibility.

There were those who could not, would not, and did not listen. Those for whom the message was entirely, absolutely and wholly unacceptable, indigestible, foreign, and uncomfortable. They wanted to hang on to their own way; their own customs; their own way of thinking, behaving, judging, and keeping appearances that served their positions and way of living. --To them, Jesus’ message was a stumbling block. These people welcomed the opportunity to join the crowd whose first reaction was to find an excuse to ostracize Jesus, to condemn him along with his message.

While there was all this fury of emotions and fuss brewing around him, Jesus kept doing his work. His mother and cousins came to see him and to talk to him, because they, too heard the rumors, but were there to protect him. However, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, Jesus needed no human protection. That is why he calmly turned and looked at the people who sat around him, reiterating that he was there for them. Despite whoever was cursing, blaspheming, shouting and opposing his message, there was no way of obstructing and blocking the Truth. It was the will of the Father to reveal it, to witness it, and to pass it on as light and salt of the world.

So, Jesus, of course, was aware of the obstacles. He did not live in illusion, detached from reality. After all, it was predicted about him that he would be met with resistance, that his message would lead to the rise and the fall of many. It was revealed to Isaih that the Messiah would suffer, and to the three Kings, that he would die (Isaiah 53-1-9; Matthew 2:1-12). Simeon, the devout old man of the Synagogue in Jerusalem turned to Mary as held the baby Jesus in his arms, that he recognized as the Messiah, and said: “Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against; yes, a sword shall pierce through your own soul also, that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed” (Luke 2:34-35).

The prophecy said that Jesus will be despised, rejected, and put to death and that through Him the God’s plan of salvation will be fulfilled. That is, despite, and exactly because of human wrongs, the triumph of the Spirit would be invoked and exalted over everything that is temporary, futile, vain, sinful, and evil. Rejection, blasphemy, and finally, death will be vanquished. All these earthly things will pass away, and only what was true, good and beautiful will remain: What was broken will be mended. What was weak will be supported. What was only a flickering light would be brought to a flame. And the Truth will prevail. --That Jesus is God and Messiah and that through Him God will reconcile the world to himself, repair the effects of darkness and sin, and He will dwell in all and through all and imbue everything with life.

Jesus was confident in the Father, and he was unwavering the Promisse. Therefore, instead of revenge, or acting out, he privately explained to those close to him the irrationality of the false claims about him: “A divided house cannot stand.” If it is divided, its end has come. With this message Jesus simply and effectively takes the wind out of the sails of the rumors. He wants his disciples to remain in the Truth and steadfast in their faith.

The contract is sharp and is marked: When faith is mocked, when hope is looked down upon, when the humble are despised, and the meek are mocked, that is not the Kingdom of God. Where faith is kindled, when hope is affirmed, when the humble are respected and the meek are valued, that is where the Kingdom of God can start to flourish. Thus, today’s reading points out that human beings are given a choice: Do we want to nurture the weeds and create our own hell; or do we accept God’s authority and leave final justice in His hands?

Trust allows one to make that leap of faith from instinct, or impulse to response. Response to what? Response to the rock of faith. Response to the Truth. Response to the voice of God sounding through, (per-sonare), despite obstacles, challenges, frustrating and annoying, or desolate circumstances, or poor chances.

Faith allows us to see beyond the facades, the labyrinths, and the snares. Hope allows us to fix our gaze from what is temporal and partial to what is to come, the promise, the gift. Love allows us to commit to worthwhile causes beyond disappointment, setbacks or others destructive criticism.

In ancient times, when Elijah had done the work of the Lord, and he kindled Jezebel’s wrath, he fled to the wilderness, where he sat down, and he was ready to give back his life to God. He lied down under a tree, ready to die, saying, “It is enough now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my ancestors,” he said (1 Kings 19:4). An angel of the Lord appeared to him and strengthened him with food and with words to continue his journey to meet God at Mount Horeb. So, Elijah ate and drank, and he walked forty days and forty nights until he reached Mount Horeb, where he found a cave to stay and wait for the Lord.

There was a strong wind that split the rocks, but God was not in it. It was followed by an earthquake and a fire, but God was not in these, either. After the fire, there was sheer silence. “When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.” (1 Kings 19:13). There, God spoke to Elijah and gave him a mission.

It can happen to all of us that we are confronted with what is weak, fallible and finite. It can be something that others do to us, or our own vulnerability and mortality. Our own sense of weakness. In these cases, today’s Gospel reading advises to remain silent. God will speak through a medium; a natural phenomenon, a person, or a word, that we can perceive, and understand. He will refresh our souls and give us a sense of direction.

“For he knows we are but dust and that our days are few and brief, like grass, like flowers, blown by the wind and gone forever” (Psalm 103:14-16). But He is mindful of us. The world will pass away, but his words will remain: “The Lord has been mindful of us, he will bless us; He will bless the house of Israel; he will bless the House of Aaron; he will bless those who fear the Lord, both small and great” (Psalm 115:12).

Jesus had God’s vision and plan in front of his eyes. As God and man, he acted with human strength, aided by the spirit and the Holy Spirit. While we may never be able to do exactly as he did, that is not asked from us. We are not the Savior of the world. We are those who choose to discern his footprints and humbly follow in them.

There is a well-known Christian poem entitled “Footprints in the Sand.” Its authorship is debated, but gifted to public domain by Ella H. Scharring-Housen in 1922, and published by her niece, Carolyn Joyce Carty in 1963: (1)

“One night a man had a dream, He dreamt he was walking along the beach with the LORD. Across the sky flashed scenes from his life. For each scene, he noticed two sets of footprints in the sand; one belonged to him, and the other to the LORD.

When the last scene of his life flashed before him, he looked back at the footprints in the sand. He noticed that many times along the path of his life, there was only one set of footprints. He also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times in his life.

This really bothered him, and he questioned the LORD about it. ‘LORD you said that once I decided to follow you, you’d walk with me all the way. But I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life, there is only one set of footprints. I don’t understand why when I needed you most you would leave me.’

The LORD replied, ‘My precious, precious child, I love you and I would never leave you. During your times of trial and suffering, when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you.”

-- This is just to say that whether we step into the same print, or are carried, as the Bible says, “on eagle’s wings” (Psalm 91), we belong with God. We are His.

In “Man’s Search for Meaning,” Viktor Frankl offers some pertinent insights from a life-affirming, existentialist point of view:

Frankl recalled the words of the late Rabbi Leo Baeck, who already in 1945 formulated a “Prayer for Reconciliation” in which he explicitly said: “Only goodness shall count!” (2:175).

--Goodness is eternally worth striving for.

References