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. . . and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed 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." 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 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
Yesterday, we read that Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the sea. And a great multitude from Galilee followed Him, and from Judea and Jerusalem and Idumea and beyond the Jordan; and those from Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they heard how many things He was doing, came to Him. So He told His disciples that a small boat should be kept ready for Him because of the multitude, lest they should crush Him. For He healed many, so that as many as had afflictions pressed about Him to touch Him. And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw Him, fell down before Him and cried out, saying, "You are the Son of God." But He sternly warned them that they should not make Him known. And He went up on the mountain and called to Him those He Himself wanted. And they came to Him. Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons: Simon, to whom He gave the name Peter; James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, to whom He gave the name Boanerges, that is, "Sons of Thunder"; Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Cananite; and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.
. . . and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed 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." 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. My study bible explains, "Beelzebub, or Baal, was the prince of 'the dung heap' or lord of 'the flies' -- a god worshiped by the Philistines (4 Kings 1:2-16). Here, he is called ruler of the demons. The impossibility of demons fighting against themselves illustrates the irrational pride and envy of the Pharisees in their opposition to Jesus."
"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." A note tells us: "Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is blasphemy against the divine activity of the Spirit, blasphemy against pure goodness." It goes on to suggest these men, experts in the Jewish Scriptures, know the activity of the Holy Spirit; this is something of which they are intensely aware as part of the history of their faith. Therefore, it suggests that they are behaving from a willful hardness of heart, a refusal to accept God's mercy in the form of Jesus' ministry. The Fathers of the Church taught that the sin of blasphemy against the Spirit isn't unforgivable, nor does Jesus ever call it so. St. John Chrysostom taught that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit was forgivable if a person were to repent. My study bible says, "Jesus makes this declaration knowing that those who blaspheme the Spirit are calling pure, divine goodness 'evil,' and are beyond repentance by their own choice."
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 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." My study bible says that Jesus' family hasn't yet understood His identity and mission -- but He points to a spiritual family based on obedience to "the will of My Father." This doesn't exclude His blood relatives, it is just an expansion of the concept of family via the work of faith in each person. In the Middle East today, it is still common to call extended family relations "brothers." By tradition in the Church, these brothers are considered to be either stepbrothers (children of Joseph by an earlier marriage), or cousins. Historically, Jesus' commitment of His mother to the care of the disciple John at the Cross indicates He had no siblings; this would have been unthinkable if Mary had other children to care for her.
Let us consider "family" as expressed by Jesus as those who seek to do the will of God. Clearly, this would include all that which is embraced by the Holy Spirit, and the works of the Holy Spirit. The idea that the will of God is that which unites us in faith as family tells us a great deal about Jesus' mission. It speaks to us about, and invites us to consider, the nature of love. Where does it go? How does it work in the world? And we must consider the work of the Spirit, that which is so linked to our faith, our desire to find the path God wants of us. This speaks to us also of a rootedness in love itself, an openness that isn't limited by any material consideration, but is available through the heart, through our awareness of a love for the things that are of God in the spirit of God. "Family," as we think of it in material terms, or worldly terms, is limited by blood or genetics or perhaps by law. But there are no such limits on family in Jesus' estimation; this is something we do by election, by choice. We either desire to do the will of God or not. It is up to us. Therefore the dividing lines between "family" and "not family" become drawn in a way that is utterly different from our usual way of thinking. If God is love, then there is a power at work here when we choose to truly serve love -- perhaps the best definition of a real "family value" that we can come up with. Jesus' power, as the stronger man who is capable of "binding the strong man" (casting out demons) is therefore this power to serve the Father, to bring a true Kingdom, and to defeat that which serves something else. Redemption is in the power to serve the God who is love, who calls us all to real "family relations" and out of the abuse that is not a "family value" at all. But that starts with our faith, with where we choose what we love.
