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

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

Yesterday we read that, after the Pharisees began plotting with the Herodians to destroy Him (see Saturday's reading),  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, and 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 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."   It may seem strange to us, but the Gospels show conflict between family and the religious life, particularly the work of the Spirit or holiness in the world (see also, for example, John 7:1-9).  Here, St. Jerome comments that even Christ's family seek to put a stop to His public ministry, which at this point has become overwhelming in its popularity, by claiming He has a weak mind.  Perhaps the sheer volume of people crowding into this home to see Him render His ministry "unseemly" or too conspicuous in their eyes; more likely, in the context of this explosive public attention, they are also responding to the new threats against Him from both the religious and state authorities.  But conflict and hostility do not deter Christ from pressing forward with His mission.

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."  Beelzebub, or Baal, was a god worshiped by the Philistines (2 Kings 1:2-16).  The name Beelzebub is one given to Baal by the Jews, a disparaging epithet which means the prince of the "dung heap" or lord of "the flies."  Here the scribes call him the ruler of the demons.  But Jesus responds to their charge with a rational question, "How can Satan cast out Satan?"   He makes it clear through the example of plundering a strong man's house that He is, in effect, the One who has come to bind Satan in opposition to his kingdom, and to liberate the world, his plunder.  My study bible says that the impossibility of demons fighting against themselves illustrates the irrational pride and envy of the Pharisees and scribes 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."  Here Jesus takes His argument further, in a warning to these men of the leadership themselves.  To blaspheme against the Holy Spirit is to blaspheme against the divine activity of the Spirit, my study bible explains.  It is blasphemy against pure goodness.  The scribes to whom He speaks are the experts in the Old Testament Scriptures, and because of this they are fully aware of what the work of the Spirit in the world is.  My study bible says in this context that therefore their blasphemy against the Spirit -- in effect, calling the purely good "evil" -- comes from a willful hardness of heart and a refusal to accept God's mercy.   A hardness of heart which refuses repentance remains, in effect of such a state, without forgiveness.

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."    Once more the interaction of Christ's family with His ministry illustrates the conflict between the social structures of the world and the holy.    My study bible comments that Jesus' relatives haven't yet understood His identity and mission.   Considering what we read earlier about their concern for Him, this is perhaps another time they try to speak with Him about His ministry.  Jesus remains firm in His mission,  pointing to a spiritual family,  based on obedience to the will of God.  There need be no real conflict here, and in the case of His mother, we know already of her love and obedience to God (Luke 1:38).

It's interesting to consider the images that Mark's Gospel gives us of the repeated attempts at intervention by Christ's family.  They may simply be trying to protect Him from the attention of both the state and religious authorities.  Perhaps they themselves are suffering from undesirable public scrutiny in their own lives in the wake of the effects of His ministry and the public response.  Whatever the reason, we are given to observe how deeply conflicts may play a role in the lives of the faithful.  The impact of the holy is one that shakes up the world.  The powers that be -- that of the "strong man" or "prince of this world" -- are shaken through holiness, the work of the Spirit in the world.  The nature of Christ's kingdom is clearly illustrated in the example He provides to the scribes as that which is in opposition to Satan.  The illustration teaches us, also, that this is not a peaceful opposition but a violent one, one designed to thoroughly shake up the hold that evil has on the world and to "bind up" its power.  As such, it shouldn't be so surprising that Christ's ministry shakes up His own world on so many levels:  from the religious leadership to the state power, to even those members of His own family.  In that light, it is interesting and important to consider Jesus' words about the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit.  He tells us,  "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."  Let us note that He compares other sins and blasphemies to this one significant act of blasphemy of the Spirit.  It's an acknowledgement that sin goes on all the time; it is simply part and parcel of our world.  But blasphemy against the Spirit falls in a particular category.  St. Gregory Nazianzinus comments on this passage that the Holy Spirit is God himself enabling our faith, and moreover, that God the Spirit is not only the one whom we worship but the one by whom we worship.  It is the Spirit, in other words, by whom we have faith in the first place.  What Jesus declares, then, about relatedness and relationships is that there is one overarching branch above all other things that gives us right-relatedness, and that is our love of God, our desire to be obedient to God.  This passes through all other things, and surpasses all other relationships in terms of the power and authority to create "family" -- the ones whom Christ calls His "brother and sister and mother."  It is ultimately God the Father who determines true relatedness in this picture, what the "family" is.  As it is God the Holy Spirit who is at work in the world, it is the work of the Spirit that reveals and inspires; in a sense it is God the Holy Spirit who declares what is real and what is truth.  Hence, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit becomes the one "unforgivable" thing.  This is not to say that we cannot be forgiven for this sin, but that this sin above all is a denial of life and truth.  As such, should we remain in such a state in which we call good "evil," we will remain outside of the reality of God's love and the basis for true relationship to all things.  What we should note is that the invitation to this family is open to all people; there are no barriers to faith, to the true desire to love God.  Indeed, in the eyes of the Gospel, this is our true natural state as creatures of God. And there we come to the notion of Satan the "strong man" who must be bound by Christ, as it is this influence, ultimately, which aims to keep us from true right-relatedness.  Christ lays out the pattern, the strength of faith, and it is the Holy Spirit at work in us and at work in the world who helps to us get there.  Let us take rest in that faith, so that we may truly see the reality of what is.