By the ruler of the demons He casts out demons

And they went into a house. Then the multitude came together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread. But when His own people heard about this, they went out to lay hold of Him, for they said, "He is out of His mind." And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, "He has Beelzebub," and "By the ruler of the demons He casts out demons." So He called them to Himself and said 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 cannot stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end. No one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. And then he will plunder his house.

"Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation" -- because they said, "He has an unclean spirit."

Then His brothers and His mother came, and standing outside they sent to Him, calling Him. And a multitude was sitting around Him; and they said to Him, "Look, Your mother and Your brothers are outside seeking You." But He answered them, saying, "Who is My mother, or My brothers? And He looked around in a circle at those who sat about Him, and said, "Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and mother."

- Mark 3:19b-35

In yesterday's reading, we read about Jesus' growing ministry and fame. He goes to the sea, and preaches and heals there. But there are so many people coming from every region beyond Galilee that He must order His apostles to keep a boat ready, so that He can escape if He is threatened to be crushed by the crowd. It's not enough for them that He heals and preaches, but everyone seeks to touch Him as well. Then Jesus withdrew further, up to the mountaintop, where He called those to Him that He desired. And they responded -- Jesus chooses the Twelve Apostles, including the one who will betray Him. See He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him.

And they went into a house. Then the multitude came together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread. But when His own people heard about this, they went out to lay hold of Him, for they said, "He is out of His mind." Again, we are given a picture of Jesus' growing fame and popularity. It threatens His existence at this point. He has gathered and chosen the Twelve Apostles, so that others may share in His life, and His mission of preaching, and His power to heal and cast out demons. But even coming into a house becomes a threat to Him, because the crowds who follow are too dense -- no one can even eat in the house! His family comes to Him (perhaps to rescue Him). They are deeply concerned and fear for His sanity in the midst of this chaos. I think it tells us something about the power He carried in the midst of the world. It's like a spark that sets off reactions that perhaps no one can predict, because we each respond in our own way. I was deeply struck by yesterday's reading and some of the chaos that surrounds Jesus - not only controversy and those who seek to persecute, but that He will be betrayed by one whom He has chosen for Himself. This tells us something deeply powerful about the nature of our own freedom that each of us has in response to God, even a call from the Lord.

And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, "He has Beelzebub," and "By the ruler of the demons He casts out demons." So He called them to Himself and said 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 cannot stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end. No one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. And then he will plunder his house. Not only is His family concerned for and questioning His sanity, but His persecutors claim that He has a demon and works by the power of demons. Perhaps in all the chaos created by His fame, it's not so strange that those who seek to be rid of Him would seize upon this situation to claim demonic influence. But Jesus answers rightly: If He works by the demons, then how does He cast them out? Jesus says that "no one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. And then he will plunder his house." Jesus brings a kingdom into this world, and from the earliest preaching He has done in this Gospel, He has preached that "the kingdom of God is at hand." He means to supplant and replace the "strong man" who has had too much free reign among us in the world.

"Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation" -- because they said, "He has an unclean spirit." What is important here is the labeling of the work of the Spirit as work of a demon -- attributing spiritual gifts that work for the power of God in the world, for the kingdom Jesus seeks to bring, to evil. I don't think we should be much surprised at this, and if you look around, you will find that anything that may shake up a power structure, no matter how ostensibly good in its goals, may be seen or labeled as evil. In this case, we must turn to faith to understand Jesus. He has still refrained from identifying Himself openly as Messiah. He wants a community of faith and trust, and such faith comes from an inner understanding, a spiritual perception. Those who would project evil onto Him, and demonic activity onto His work, are blinded by their own ambitions and haven't the spiritual understanding He seeks. Therefore their own perception of God's work is such that without some form of repentance they will not be aware of God's love at work within them, nor in their midst - nor in Jesus Himself. It is a question of perception of what is there. God's presence and power and love are here, and always offered. Sin, then, becomes a question of what we can see and hear, and what we are a part of within ourselves - or of that from which we remain excluded by our own blindness, for whatever cause.

Then His brothers and His mother came, and standing outside they sent to Him, calling Him. And a multitude was sitting around Him; and they said to Him, "Look, Your mother and Your brothers are outside seeking You." But He answered them, saying, "Who is My mother, or My brothers? And He looked around in a circle at those who sat about Him, and said, "Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and mother." His family continues to seek Him -- perhaps they are still trying to talk to Him and are concerned for His state of mind amidst all the tumult. But as He does so often, Jesus goes one step further. He is ultimately pronouncing the state of things "good." He is not insulting His mother and His brothers, but rather calling His community His family. And that community is created through the acceptance of the will of God, the power of the Spirit at work in each of us, when we can perceive and respond positively to the drawing power of the love therein. This is a contrast with those who would call the work of the Spirit evil, or attribute it to something bad or demonic activity. Those who can perceive, who share love and community through this power of love, become His family.

So amid the tumult and chaos Jesus' fame creates, we start to understand a story. And it is linked to yesterday's reading, and how the kingdom grows amidst our responses to it. Do we accept it, or reject it? Do we call it good, or the work of the devil? How do we know what the Spirit will do in our lives, and how do we perceive it at work in and through others around us? This reading teaches us that each of us has our own response to the work of God in the world. And if nothing else, it also teaches us that we may at all times be deceived by our own desires and the things we wish to hold onto, the things we need to call good. Our own ambitions and desires to keep a system intact, a position we cherish, may interfere with our ability to perceive the now, the presence of the reality of God in our midst. This situation hasn't changed today, although we do not have Jesus the Son of Man walking incarnate among us. Rather, we are still in the midst of His work for the kingdom, the work of His apostles and disciples and those who have followed and those who accept the work of the Spirit alive and well in the world. Can you be present to it? Or does something prevent you from understanding it and perceiving it -- or worse, calling the Spirit's work evil when you may see it at work in the lives of others? This question is as important now as it ever was, and it teaches us about where we stand. Do we accept that love that is all around us, or does something we hold onto keep us outside of it?