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PENTECOST, PROPER V - B- 18 MARK 3. 20-35
“The
crowd came together again, so that Jesus and his disciples could not even eat.”
Jesus
began his earthly ministry in Galilee after John had been arrested. He called
the fishermen, Peter and Andrew, James and John to leave their nets and follow
him. Mark tells us that Jesus preached and taught in the synagogue at Capernaum
early in his ministry.
There
was present on that day a man with an “unclean” spirit. The unholy spirit
recognized Jesus as the Holy One of God. Jesus commanded the spirit to be
silent and then he cast him out setting the man free of his demonic possession.
His actions and words in the synagogue at Capernaum astonished and amazed the
people and sent shock waves as far as Jerusalem.
This,
however, was only the beginning. Christ continued his mission of preaching and
teaching and healing as he made his way from Galilee to Judea and back again.
More than one demonic possessed soul was rescued in the process. His fame
spread and the news of his teaching and his power over the unclean spirits
brought scribes from Jerusalem to see exactly what he was up to.
It
wasn’t just those who were possessed that he healed but the lame, the blind,
and as we heard in last week’s gospel, a man with a withered hand. The
authorities conspired to get rid of him. The people could not get enough of
him. They were hungry for his teaching about God and the coming Kingdom and
they continued to be amazed at his power to heal and to cast out demons.
Everywhere
he went, the crowds followed him and gathered around him so much so, Mark tells
us in today’s gospel that he and his disciples could not even eat. Strange how
people interpret the same things they see and hear differently. Mark tells us
that some of his own people, some who had known Jesus from childhood, thought
that he was out of his mind.
The
scribes naturally jumped on that bandwagon and proclaimed that he had an
unclean spirit. Jesus was not from God, they said, but was in league with
Beelzebub, the lord of the flies, a god worshiped by the Philistines. Here he
is called the ruler of the demons.
The
scribes were trying to discredit Jesus. He didn’t fit into their scheme of
messiah. He had no credentials. His own family and those who knew him thought
he was mad. Thus, they sought to label him as such. He would have to be in
league with the devil to be doing what he was doing. That would explain it, and
it would also justify doing whatever it would take to “silence” him.
The
impossibility of demons fighting against themselves illustrates the irrational
pride and envy of the Pharisees in their opposition to Jesus. Blasphemy against
the Holy Spirit is blasphemy against the divine activity of the Spirit, that
is, blasphemy against pure goodness. A sin against the Son of Man is more
easily forgiven because the Jews did not know much about Christ.
But
blasphemy against the Spirit, whose divine activity they know from the Old
Testament, will not be forgiven because it comes from a willful hardness of
heart and a refusal to accept God’s mercy. Once you label what is in fact the
work of the Holy Spirit as the work of the devil, there is no way back. Jesus’
critics painted themselves in a corner. They were blinded to the truth.
Obviously,
they had forgotten the words of God to the serpent in the garden: “I will put
enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will
strike your head, and you will strike his heel.” Jesus makes the declaration
knowing that those who blasphemed the Spirit are calling pure, divine goodness,
“evil,” and are beyond repentance by their own choice.
With
that exchange ended, Jesus is told that his mother and members of his immediate
family are outside and wish to see him.
They too think that there is something wrong with him and wish to take
him home. However, they have not yet understood his true identity and mission.
They are not seated at his feet.
He
points to a spiritual family based on obedience to the will of the Father in
heaven as being his family. It is a statement that sent shock waves through the
audience as it shattered the traditional Jewish concept of family. The scribes
and those who knew him, now even his own family thought him mad and labeled him
so. That is what we do is not it, when we find ourselves opposed to some idea
or someone who differs from us or who does not fit into our scheme of things.
We
convince ourselves that what they say or do is simply “crazy.” It doesn’t fit
with our way of thinking or what we believe to be true. Thus, we label it as
such. Moreover, when we do there is no going back. No way are we going to
change our minds. No one or anything will convince us that we are wrong. The
division we create is permanent.
And
so it was for those who opposed Jesus - what he was doing and what he was
saying. He must be out of his mind and those who followed him and believed in
what he was doing and saying were just as crazy. There is no middle ground for
the world today as for Israel then. Jesus is not a mildly interesting
historical figure, as some in today’s world would like for him to be, another
label, if you will, designed to neutralize him.
He
is either the promised one who ushered in God’s kingdom, or else he is a
dangerous madman. Those of us who chose to follow him and proclaim him to be
the Son of the Most High God, the Savior and Redeemer of the world must be
prepared to face opposition of all sorts, sometimes subtle, sometimes
threatening. And we must learn how to respond.
The
call to follow Jesus, to listen to him, to model our lives after Him, even if
those outside think us crazy, is what matters. The Church in every generation,
in every place, needs to remember this and act on it. The gospel, and
allegiance to Jesus, produces a division, often an unexpected and unwelcome
one, in every group, family, and society.
However,
“we do not lose heart…” as St. Paul encourages us in today’s Epistle, “for this
slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory
beyond all measure…”
This
is the Hope to which you and I have been called in Him who died and rose again
- the hope of glory. God will give us the grace to live by Faith and the Holy
Spirit will enable us to do His will if we stick with Jesus, whatever the cost.
AMEN+
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