Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 89
Lectionary: 89
After the man, Adam, had eaten of the tree,
the LORD God called to the man and asked him, "Where are you?"
He answered, "I heard you in the garden;
but I was afraid, because I was naked,
so I hid myself."
Then he asked, "Who told you that you were naked?
You have eaten, then,
from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat!"
The man replied, "The woman whom you put here with me—
she gave me fruit from the tree, and so I ate it."
The LORD God then asked the woman,
"Why did you do such a thing?"
The woman answered, "The serpent tricked me into it, so I ate it."
Then the LORD God said to the serpent:
"Because you have done this, you shall be banned
from all the animals
and from all the wild creatures;
on your belly shall you crawl,
and dirt shall you eat
all the days of your life.
I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
he will strike at your head,
while you strike at his heel."
the LORD God called to the man and asked him, "Where are you?"
He answered, "I heard you in the garden;
but I was afraid, because I was naked,
so I hid myself."
Then he asked, "Who told you that you were naked?
You have eaten, then,
from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat!"
The man replied, "The woman whom you put here with me—
she gave me fruit from the tree, and so I ate it."
The LORD God then asked the woman,
"Why did you do such a thing?"
The woman answered, "The serpent tricked me into it, so I ate it."
Then the LORD God said to the serpent:
"Because you have done this, you shall be banned
from all the animals
and from all the wild creatures;
on your belly shall you crawl,
and dirt shall you eat
all the days of your life.
I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
he will strike at your head,
while you strike at his heel."
Responsorial
PsalmPS 130:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8
R. (7bc) With
the Lord there is mercy, and fullness of redemption.
Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD;
LORD, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
to my voice in supplication.
R. With the Lord there is mercy, and fullness of redemption.
If you, O LORD, mark iniquities,
LORD, who can stand?
But with you is forgiveness,
that you may be revered.
R. With the Lord there is mercy, and fullness of redemption.
I trust in the LORD;
my soul trusts in his word.
More than sentinels wait for the dawn,
let Israel wait for the LORD.
R. With the Lord there is mercy, and fullness of redemption.
For with the LORD is kindness
and with him is plenteous redemption
and he will redeem Israel
from all their iniquities.
R. With the Lord there is mercy, and fullness of redemption.
Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD;
LORD, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
to my voice in supplication.
R. With the Lord there is mercy, and fullness of redemption.
If you, O LORD, mark iniquities,
LORD, who can stand?
But with you is forgiveness,
that you may be revered.
R. With the Lord there is mercy, and fullness of redemption.
I trust in the LORD;
my soul trusts in his word.
More than sentinels wait for the dawn,
let Israel wait for the LORD.
R. With the Lord there is mercy, and fullness of redemption.
For with the LORD is kindness
and with him is plenteous redemption
and he will redeem Israel
from all their iniquities.
R. With the Lord there is mercy, and fullness of redemption.
Reading 22 COR 4:13—5:1
Brothers and sisters:
Since we have the same spirit of faith,
according to what is written, I believed, therefore I spoke,
we too believe and therefore we speak,
knowing that the one who raised the Lord Jesus
will raise us also with Jesus
and place us with you in his presence.
Everything indeed is for you,
so that the grace bestowed in abundance on more and more people
may cause the thanksgiving to overflow for the glory of God.
Therefore, we are not discouraged;
rather, although our outer self is wasting away,
our inner self is being renewed day by day.
For this momentary light affliction
is producing for us an eternal weight of glory
beyond all comparison,
as we look not to what is seen but to what is unseen;
for what is seen is transitory, but what is unseen is eternal.
For we know that if our earthly dwelling, a tent,
should be destroyed,
we have a building from God,
a dwelling not made with hands, eternal in heaven.
Since we have the same spirit of faith,
according to what is written, I believed, therefore I spoke,
we too believe and therefore we speak,
knowing that the one who raised the Lord Jesus
will raise us also with Jesus
and place us with you in his presence.
Everything indeed is for you,
so that the grace bestowed in abundance on more and more people
may cause the thanksgiving to overflow for the glory of God.
Therefore, we are not discouraged;
rather, although our outer self is wasting away,
our inner self is being renewed day by day.
For this momentary light affliction
is producing for us an eternal weight of glory
beyond all comparison,
as we look not to what is seen but to what is unseen;
for what is seen is transitory, but what is unseen is eternal.
For we know that if our earthly dwelling, a tent,
should be destroyed,
we have a building from God,
a dwelling not made with hands, eternal in heaven.
AlleluiaJN 12:31B-32
R. Alleluia,
alleluia.
Now the ruler of the world will be driven out, says the Lord;
and when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Now the ruler of the world will be driven out, says the Lord;
and when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelMK 3:20-35
Jesus came home with his disciples.
Again the crowd gathered,
making it impossible for them even to eat.
When his relatives heard of this they set out to seize him,
for they said, "He is out of his mind."
The scribes who had come from Jerusalem said,
"He is possessed by Beelzebul,"
and "By the prince of demons he drives out demons."
Summoning them, he began to speak to them in parables,
"How can Satan drive 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;
that is the end of him.
But no one can enter a strong man's house to plunder his property
unless he first ties up the strong man.
Then he can plunder the house.
Amen, I say to you,
all sins and all blasphemies that people utter will be
forgiven them.
But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit
will never have forgiveness,
but is guilty of an everlasting sin."
For they had said, "He has an unclean spirit."
His mother and his brothers arrived.
Standing outside they sent word to him and called him.
A crowd seated around him told him,
"Your mother and your brothers and your sisters
are outside asking for you."
But he said to them in reply,
"Who are my mother and my brothers?"
And looking around at those seated in the circle he said,
"Here are my mother and my brothers.
For whoever does the will of God
is my brother and sister and mother."
Again the crowd gathered,
making it impossible for them even to eat.
When his relatives heard of this they set out to seize him,
for they said, "He is out of his mind."
The scribes who had come from Jerusalem said,
"He is possessed by Beelzebul,"
and "By the prince of demons he drives out demons."
Summoning them, he began to speak to them in parables,
"How can Satan drive 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;
that is the end of him.
But no one can enter a strong man's house to plunder his property
unless he first ties up the strong man.
Then he can plunder the house.
Amen, I say to you,
all sins and all blasphemies that people utter will be
forgiven them.
But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit
will never have forgiveness,
but is guilty of an everlasting sin."
For they had said, "He has an unclean spirit."
His mother and his brothers arrived.
Standing outside they sent word to him and called him.
A crowd seated around him told him,
"Your mother and your brothers and your sisters
are outside asking for you."
But he said to them in reply,
"Who are my mother and my brothers?"
And looking around at those seated in the circle he said,
"Here are my mother and my brothers.
For whoever does the will of God
is my brother and sister and mother."
Meditation: "Whoever
does the will of God is my brother, and sister, and mother"
[Mark 3:20-21] Is the Lord Jesus honored in your home?
Why would Jesus' relatives be so upset with him when he began his public
ministry? On one occasion Jesus remarked that a man's enemies will be
the members of his own household (Matthew 10:36). The Gospel of Mark
records the reaction of Jesus' relatives when he went home: they came
to seize him. They, no doubt, thought that Jesus must have gone mad or
become a religious fanatic. How could a good home-body from Nazareth leave his
father's carpentry trade and go off to become a traveling preacher?
Jesus had thrown away the security and safety of a
quiet and respectable life close to his family and relatives. He, undoubtedly,
expected opposition from the Jewish authorities. The hardest opposition,
however, may come from someone close to us, even your own kin. Jesus met
opposition with grace and with determination to fulfill his Father's will. Are
you ready to obey and follow the Lord even if others oppose your doing so?
"Lord Jesus, may I always put you first and find
joy in doing your will. May your love and charity grow in me, especially in the
face of opposition and adversity."
[Mark 3:22-30] When danger lurks, what kind of protection do you seek? Jesus came to free us from the greatest danger of all - the corrupting force of evil which destroys us from within and makes us slaves to sin and Satan (John 8:34). Evil is not an impersonal force that just happens. It has a name and a face and it seeks to master every heart and soul on the face of the earth (1 Peter 5:8-9). Scripture identifies the Evil One by many names, 'Satan', 'Beelzebul - the prince of demons', the 'Devil', the 'Deceiver', the 'Father of Lies', and 'Lucifier', the fallen angel who broke rank with God and established his own army and kingdom in opposition to God. Jesus declared that he came to overthrow the power of Satan and his kingdom (John 12:31).
Jesus' numerous exorcisms brought freedom to many who were troubled and oppressed by the work of evil spirits. Jesus himself encountered personal opposition and battle with Satan when he was put to the test in the wilderness just before his public ministry (Matthew 4:1; Luke 4:1). He overcame the Evil One through his obedience to the will of his Father.
Some of the Jewish leaders reacted vehemently to
Jesus' healings and exorcisms and they opposed him with malicious slander. How
could Jesus get the power and authority to release individuals from Satan's
influence and control? They assumed that he had to be in league with Satan.
They attributed his power to Satan rather than to God. Jesus asserts that no
kingdom divided against itself can survive for long.
We have witnessed enough civil wars in our own time to
prove the destructive force at work here for the annihilation of whole peoples
and their land. If Satan lends his power against his own forces then he is
finished. Cyril of Alexandria, a 5th century church father explains the force
of Jesus' argument:
Kingdoms are established by the fidelity
of subjects and the obedience of those under the royal scepter. Houses are
established when those who belong to them in no way whatsoever thwart one
another but, on the contrary, agree in will and deed. I suppose it would
establish the kingdom too of Beelzebub, had he determined to abstain from
everything contrary to himself. How then does Satan cast out Satan? It follows
then that devils do not depart from people on their own accord but retire
unwillingly. 'Satan,' he says, 'does not fight with himself.' He does not
rebuke his own servants. He does not permit himself to injure his own
armor-bearers. On the contrary, he helps his kingdom. 'It remains for you to
understand that I crush Satan by divine power.' [Commentary on Luke, Homily 80]
Jesus asserted his
authority to cast out demons as a clear demonstration of the reign of God.
God's power is clearly at work in the exorcisms which Jesus performed and they
give evidence that God's kingdom has come.
What kind of spiritual danger or harm should we avoid
at all costs? Jesus used the illustration of a strong man whose house and
possessions were kept secure. How could such a person be overtaken and robbed
of his goods except by someone who is stronger than himself? Satan, who is our
foe and the arch-enemy of God, is stronger than us. Unless we are clothed in
God's strength, we cannot withstand Satan with our own human strength.
What does Satan wish to take from us - our faith and
confidence in God and our allegiance to follow God's law. Satan is a rebel and
a liar. Satan can only have power or dominion over us if we listen to his lies
and succumb to his will which is contrary to the will of God. Jesus makes it
clear that there are no neutral parties in this world. We are either for Jesus
or against him, for the kingdom of God or against it. There are two kingdoms in
opposition to one another - the kingdom of God's light and truth and the
kingdom of darkness and deception under the rule of Satan. If we disobey God's
word, we open to door to the power of sin and Satan's influence in our lives.
If we want to live in true freedom from the power of sin and Satan, then our
"house" - our mind and heart and whatever we allow to control our
appetites and desires - must be occupied and ruled by Jesus Christ where he is
enthroned as Lord and Savior. Do you know the peace and security of a life
submitted to God and to his word?
What is the unforgivable sin which Jesus warns us to
avoid? Jesus knows that his disciples will be tested and he assures them that
the Holy Spirit will give them whatever grace and help they need in their time
of adversity. He warns them, however, that it's possible to spurn the grace of
God and to fall into apostasy (giving up the faith) out of cowardice or
disbelief. Why is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit reprehensible? Blasphemy
consists in uttering against God, inwardly or outwardly, words of hatred,
reproach, or defiance. It's contrary to the respect due God and his holy name.
Jesus speaks of blaspheming against the Holy Spirit as the unforgivable sin.
Jesus spoke about this sin immediately after the scribes and Pharisees had
attributed his miracles to the work of the devil instead of to God. A sin can
only be unforgivable if repentance is impossible. If someone repeatedly closes
their eyes to God, shuts their ears to his voice, and reject his word, they
bring themselves to a point where they can no longer recognize God when he can
be seen and heard. They become spiritually blind-sighted and speak of
"evil as good and good as evil" (Isaiah 5:20).
To fear such a state of sin and spiritual blindness,
however, signals that one is not dead to God and is conscious of the need for
God's grace, mercy, and help. There are no limits to the mercy of God, but
anyone who refuses to acknowledge and confess their sins and to ask God for
forgiveness, spurns God's generous offer of mercy, pardon, grace, and healing.
Through their own stubborn pride and willfullness, they reject God, refuse his
grace and help to turn away from sin, and reject the transforming power of the
Holy Spirit to heal and restore them to wholeness. God always gives sufficient
grace and help to all who humbly call upon him. Giving up on God and refusing
to turn away from sin and disbelief results from pride and the loss of hope in
God.
What is the basis of our hope and confidence in God?
Through Jesus' death on the cross and his victory over the grave when he rose
again on the third day, Satan has been defeated and death has been overcome. We
now share in Christ's victory over sin and Satan and receive adoption as God's
sons and daughters. Through the gift of the Holy Spirit, the Lord enables us to
live a new life of love and freedom from slavery to sin. The Lord Jesus is our
refuge and strength because he makes his home with us (John 15:4) and gives us
the power and help of the Holy Spirit. Do you take refuge in the Lord and allow
him to be the Ruler of your life?
"Lord Jesus, you are my hope and salvation. Be
the ruler of my heart and the master of my home. May there be nothing in my
life that is not under your lordship."
[Mark 3:31-35] Who do you love and cherish the most? God did not intend for us to be alone, but to be with others. He gives us many opportunities for developing relationships with family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers. Why did Jesus, on this occasion, seem to ignore his own relatives when they pressed to see him? His love and respect for his mother and his relatives was unquestionable. Jesus never lost an opportunity to teach his disciples a spiritual lesson and truth about the kingdom of God. On this occasion when many gathered to hear Jesus he pointed to another higher reality of relationships, namely our relationship with God and with those who belong to God.
What is the essence of being a Christian? It is
certainly more than doctrine, precepts, and commandments. It is first and
foremost a relationship - a relationship of trust, affection, commitment,
loyalty, faithfulness, kindness, thoughtfulness, compassion, mercy,
helpfulness, encouragement, support, strength, protection, and so many other
qualities that bind people together in mutual love and unity. God offers us the
greatest of relationships - union of heart, mind, and spirit with himself, the
very author and source of love (1 John 4:8,16). God's love never fails, never
forgets, never compromises, never lies, never lets us down nor disappoints us.
His love is consistent, unwavering, unconditional, and unstoppable. Nothing can
deter him from ever leaving us, ignoring us, or treating us unkindly. He will
love us no matter what. It is his nature to love. That is why he created us -
to be united with him and to share in his love and unity of persons (1 John
3:1). God is a trinity of three divine persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit -
and a community of love. That is why Jesus challenged his followers and even
his own earthly relatives to recognize that God is the true source of all
relationships. God wants all of our relationships to be rooted in his love.
Jesus is God's love incarnate - God's love made
visible in human flesh (1 John 4:9-10). That is why Jesus describes himself as
the good shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep and the shepherd who
seeks out the sheep who have strayed and lost their way. God is like the father
who yearns for his prodigal son to return home and then throws a great party
for his son when he has a change of heart and comes back (Luke 15:11-32). Jesus
offered up his life on the cross for our sake, so that we could be forgiven and
restored to unity and friendship with God. It is through Jesus that we become
the adopted children of God - his own sons and daughters. That is why Jesus
told his disciples that they would have many new friends and family
relationships in his kingdom. Whoever does the will of God is a friend of God
and a member of his family - his sons and daughters who have been ransomed by
the precious blood of Christ.
An early Christian martyr once said that "a
Christian's only relatives are the saints" - namely those who have been
redeemed by the blood of Christ and adopted as sons and daughters of God. Those
who have been baptized into Jesus Christ and who live as his disciples enter
into a new family, a family of "saints" here on earth and in heaven.
Jesus changes the order of relationships and shows that true kinship is not
just a matter of flesh and blood. Our adoption as sons and daughters of God
transforms all of our relationships and requires a new order of loyalty to God
first and to his kingdom of righteousness and peace. Do you want to grow in
love and friendship? Allow God's Holy Spirit to transform your heart, mind, and
will to enable you to love freely and generously as he loves.
"Heavenly Father, you are the source of all true
friendship and love. In all my relationships, may your love be my constant
guide for choosing what is good and for rejecting what is contrary to your
will."
Daily Quote from the early church fathers: The strong man bound, by
Irenaeus, 135-202 A.D.
"The adversary enticed humanity to transgress our
maker's law, and thereby got us into his clutches (Genesis 3:1-6). Yet his
power consisted only in tempting the human will toward trespass and apostasy.
With these chains he bound up the human will. This is why in the economy of
salvation it was necessary that he be bound with the same chains by which he
had bound humanity. It would be through a man that humanity would be set free
to return to the Lord (Romans 5:18), leaving the adversary in those bonds by
which he himself had been fettered, that is, sin. For when Satan is bound, man
is set free; since 'none can enter a strong man's house and spoil his goods,
unless he first bind the strong man himself' (Matthew 12:29; Mark 3:27). It is
in this way that he became exposed as the opposer of the Word who made all
things, and subdued by his command. The new man showed him to be a fugitive
from the law, and an apostate from God. He then was securely bound as a
fugitive, and his goods hauled away. These goods are those who had been in
bondage, whom he had unjustly used for his own purposes. So it was a just means
by which he was led captive, who had led humanity into captivity unjustly. In
this way humanity was rescued from the clutches of its possessor by the tender
mercy of God the Father, who had compassion on his own handiwork, and gave to
it salvation, restoring it by means of the Word, Christ, in order that humanity
might learn from this actual event that they receive incorruptibility not of
themselves, but by the free gift of God" (Romans 5:16). (excerpt from AGAINST HERESIES 5.21.3.29)
TENTH SUNDAY
IN ORDINARY TIME
SUNDAY, JUNE 10, MARK 3:20-35
(Genesis 3:9-15; Psalm 130; 2 Corinthians 4:13 - 5:1)
SUNDAY, JUNE 10, MARK 3:20-35
(Genesis 3:9-15; Psalm 130; 2 Corinthians 4:13 - 5:1)
KEY VERSE: "For whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother" (v.35).
TO KNOW: News of Jesus' ministry reaches members of his family who have difficulty understanding his life-style as an itinerant preacher. They fear that he has lost his mind and could not handle his own affairs. Some scribes attributed Jesus' power over disease as coming from Beelzebul ('lord of the lofty dwelling,' the pagan god Baal of Syria). Jesus shows the foolishness of a divided kingdom. His every word and deed was an attack on Satan's domain. When Jesus was informed that his mother and relatives were looking for him, he said that more than blood relationship, it is in doing God's will that makes one his "brother and sister."
TO LOVE: Do my actions reflect my bond with other believers?
TO SERVE: Lord Jesus, thank you for making me a member of your family.
NOTE: In Semitic language, "brothers" or "sisters" can mean children of the same parent, but can also imply extended members of a family such as cousins, etc. If Mark intended to say that Mary had other children, he would have said, "the sons and daughters of your mother are here," which would explain that they were Jesus' natural brothers and sisters. The doctrine of Mary's perpetual virginity was defined by the Lateran Council in 649 CE.
Sunday 10 June
2018
Week II Psalter. 10th Sunday in Ordinary Time.
Genesis 3:9-15. Psalm 129(13). 2 Colossians 4:13-5:1. Mark
3:20-35.
With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption—Psalm
129(13).
‘Visible things are transitory, but invisible things
eternal.’
Today’s Gospel has Jesus describe the bounds of his family as
those who do the will of God. So what does it mean to do God’s will?
St Ignatius Loyola invites us to keep before our eyes always the
desire to praise, reverence and serve God our Lord. Praise is the first word in
the sequence. We need to praise God with songs of joy and habits of gratitude.
Next comes reverence: we are to notice the presence of God in all things and
let this lead us to prayer.
Then comes service: out of our praise and reverence we receive
the disposition necessary to be of service to God and others.
Blessed Joachima
Saint of the Day for June 10
(1783-1854)
Blessed Joachima’s Story
Born into an aristocratic family in Barcelona, Spain, Joachima
was 12 when she expressed a desire to become a Carmelite nun. But her life took
an altogether different turn at 16 with her marriage to a young lawyer,
Theodore de Mas. Both deeply devout, they became secular Franciscans. During
their 17 years of married life they raised eight children.
The normalcy of their family life was interrupted when Napoleon
invaded Spain. Joachima had to flee with the children; Theodore remained behind
and died. Though Joachima re-experienced a desire to enter a religious
community, she attended to her duties as a mother. At the same time, the young
widow led a life of austerity and chose to wear the habit of the Third Order of
St. Francis as her ordinary dress. She spent much time in prayer and visiting
the sick.
Four years later, with some of her children now married and
younger ones under their care, Joachima confessed her desire to a priest to
join a religious order. With his encouragement, she established the Carmelite
Sisters of Charity. In the midst of the fratricidal wars occurring at the time,
Joachima was briefly imprisoned and later exiled to France for several years.
Sickness ultimately compelled her to resign as superior of her
order. Over the next four years she slowly succumbed to paralysis, which caused
her to die by inches. At her death at the age of 71 in 1854, Joachima was known
and admired for her high degree of prayer, deep trust in God, and selfless
charity.
Reflection
Joachima understands loss. She lost the home where her children
grew up, her husband, and finally her health. As the power to move and care for
her own needs slowly ebbed away, this woman who had all her life cared for
others became wholly dependent; she required help with life’s simplest tasks.
When our own lives go spinning out of control, when illness and bereavement and
financial hardship strike, all we can do is cling to the belief that sustained
Joachima: God watches over us always.
LECTIO: 10TH SUNDAY OF
ORDINARY TIME (B)
Lectio Divina:
Sunday, June 10, 2018
1) Opening
Prayer
Gracious
and loving God,
ruler
of all things in heaven and on earth,
listen
favorably to the prayer of Your people
and
grant us Your peace in our day.
We
ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who
lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
One
God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel
reading – Mark 3:20-35
Jesus came with His disciples into the house; 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 is possessed by 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 everlasting 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.”
3) Reflection
Jesus is no longer living among His relatives in Nazareth. His home is
now in Capernaum (Mk 2:1). His family travels a distance of about 40 km
to find Him there and to seize Him because they believe Him to be “out of His
mind.” Perhaps they had heard that Jesus was not behaving normally. They
may have thought that He was jeopardizing the family name. It is clear
that Jesus’ relationship with His relatives was suffering. In ancient Israel,
the clan (one’s extended family) was the way of guaranteeing mutual protection,
channeling the tradition, and upholding Jewish identity. In Galilee at the time
of Jesus, because of the Roman system introduced and imposed under the
government of Herod the Great (37 BC to 4 BC) and his son Herod Antipas (4 BC
to 39 AD), all this had ceased to exist or existed less each day. The
clan (community) was becoming weaker. The taxes that had to be paid to the
government and to the Temple, the increasing personal indebtedness, the
individualistic mentality of Hellenism, the frequent threats of violent
oppression on the part of the Romans, the obligation to accept Roman soldiers
and to give them lodging, the ever greater challenges to survival – all these
factors led families to shut themselves off from others and to focus on their
own needs. Hospitality was no longer practiced; neither was sharing, nor
communion around the table, nor acceptance of the excluded. This
concentration on the immediate family was strengthened by the religious
practices of the time. The observance of the norms of purity was a factor in
the marginalization of many people: women, children, Samaritans, foreigners,
lepers, the sick, the crippled, tax collectors, paraplegics. These norms,
instead of favoring acceptance and sharing, prompted separation and exclusion.
The scribes in today’s Gospel accuse Jesus of wielding diabolical power: “by
the ruler of the demons He casts out demons.” They had made their judgment and
would allow nothing – no good works, no life-giving message, no joy – to
penetrate their consciousness and modify their opinion. Jesus calls that
attitude blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. It is a form of idolatry through
which we divinize our own opinion or dogma, refusing to allow God or anyone to
break through to broaden our vision. This sin is unforgiveable (“an
everlasting sin”) because people who willingly imprison themselves in an
ideology wall themselves off from grace and initiate their own rigor mortis.
Jesus’ condemnation of that attitude was the harshest critique He spoke in the
Gospels. He directed it at people who had so entrapped themselves that they
would only go from bad to worse, eventually plotting His crucifixion.
The other group whose misjudgment we hear about is His family. Jesus had
suddenly become a public figure and was angering the authorities. Perhaps they
had some sort of family meeting, whose decision was to send a troupe of
representatives to find Jesus and bring Him home to His senses. They had their
idea of who He should be as a member of the family, and He was not conforming.
Jesus proclaims that His closest ties are not forged by blood or
heritage. For Jesus, His real kin are those who relate to God in love as
He does (“Whoever does the will of God …”). These are the people He would
protect as He would protect His mother and brothers, the people He would treat
as co-heirs with Him to everything the Father promised. Instead of
remaining closed up in His small family, Jesus extends the family boundaries
and creates community. He understands the profound significance of family,
clan, community as an expression of the incarnation of the love of God in love
toward neighbor.
4) Personal
Questions
In
what ways does family life help or hinder participation in the larger Christian
community?
Do
you accept Jesus on His own terms, or will you only accept a Messiah who
fulfills your expectations?
Have
you or members of your community ever gone after someone who you thought was
“out of his mind”? By what criteria did you judge this? If it had been Jesus,
would your criteria still hold?
Slander
(such as the accusation directed at Jesus by the scribes: “He is possessed by
Beelzebul”) is the arm or weapon of the weak. Have you ever experienced this?
Becoming
part of Jesus’ inner circle will demand that we drop all claim to importance
based on race, gender, ethnicity, wealth, religious status, etc.
Are
you willing to do that?
5) Concluding
prayer
O
Lord, You have searched us and known us.
You
know when we sit down and when we rise up;
You
discern our thoughts from afar.
Test
us and know our thoughts.
See
if there is any wicked way in us,
and
lead us in ways everlasting. Amen.
(from Psalm 139)
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