Mark
3:20--35
[Jesus} went home; and the crowd came together
again, so that they could not even eat. When his 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 he
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 an eternal 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. A crowd was
sitting around him; and they said to him, "Your mother and your brothers
and sisters are outside, asking for you." And he 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."
Here are my mother and my brothers!
Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.
· One of the basic ideas I use when building a sermon is to ask “What is the Good News here?” That
question helps me to keep my eye on the target, namely to focus on the salvific
message of Jesus. I’m not always able to do that, but I find that it helps.
· Of course, there’s a story that goes along with this, telling why
I take this direction, but this is not the time to tell it. We’d all do much
better to look at the Gospel reading today and go with that.
· Jesus and his disciples are swamped by the crowds who wish to see
him. Even his family came, not to hear his words but to “restrain” him since
they’d heard he was out of his mind. The scribes, in contrast, saw Jesus as a
person possessed by a demon, who cast out demons by some sort of demonic power.
Jesus points out that if this were so, demons are involved in some sort of
civil war. Jesus goes on to say that if his critics say that he does what he
does by the power of an unclean spirit, they are in a sinful situation, one
that won’t be forgiven, mostly because forgiveness won’t be asked for. Could
one of these people change their mind? It appear that the answer is “no.”
· Finally, Jesus’ family arrive and wish to deal with apparent
insanity. Jesus responds with what might be considered a harsh answer: My real
family are here, among those who are dedicated to God. Mark does not report how
Jesus’ mother and brothers responded.
· Here is the Good News for us. Jesus declares that his family are
those people who do the will of God - far more than this family by blood. This
does not mean that he devalues his family or wants nothing to do with them. The
family of Jesus are rarely mentioned in the Gospels, although John takes pains
to place Jesus’ mother at the foot of the cross on Calvary and records Jesus
giving over the care of his mother to the one known as the Beloved Disciple, so
what happened is not known. The fact that the family delegation disappears from
the narrative means that Jesus’ point has been made.
· That point is this: Whoever does the will of God is my
brother and sister and mother. Those who follow Jesus’ way of
discipleship are his family. We who stumble along the discipleship path are
Jesus’ brothers, sisters, and mothers.
· Jesus says that not to deny that he has an earthly family, but to
join all of those who are called to be his disciples to him as family.
· Note that Jesus calls those who follow his brother, sister, and
mother, but not his father. There will be only one Father, the one who is
called “Abba” by Jesus and his disciples, a title so intimate we could
translate it as “Daddy.”
· The Good News here is not so much that we can call on God in
intimate terms or that we can consider ourselves as members of Jesus family.
The Good News is that God wishes us to do just that. God freely calls us to
join ourselves to him in Christ Jesus. This is not an earned privilege but an
invitation that is constantly offered. There is no commercial clause that tells
us: “Act now! Time and spaces are
limited!” The mercy and love of God knows no limit nor will it be rationed
out by anyone. There is no deserving this or earning this. It is given to us;
it is grace.
· We are all sisters and brothers in the faith because we are
sisters and brothers of Jesus Christ by his doing and not our own. Doing the
will of God makes it so.
· And what is the will of God? …love the Lord your God with all your
heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your
strength. and …love your neighbour as yourself.”
· Remember this and rejoice in it!
Here are my mother and my brothers!
Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.
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