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"

 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 a confrontation with the Pharisees, who now plot to destroy Him,  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, Thaddeus, 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."  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."  Jesus' own people are extended relations from Nazareth.   Here they have heard of His ministry and decided that He has drawn so much attention and is causing such a stir -- including what is now a dangerous and deliberate open conflict with the ruling authorities -- that He is out of His mind.  Perhaps both for what they see as His good, and also for unwanted attention which may now be focused on them, they wish to bring Him back out of the spotlight of widespread public attention.  Beelzebub was another name for the Philistine god Baal (2 Kings 1:2-16).  It was used sardonically by the Jews as a title, meaning prince of "the dung heap" or lord of "the flies."  Here the scribes call him the ruler of the demons.  Jesus responds with the perfect parable of a kingdom divided against itself, illustrating the irrational nature of the charges made against Him.  Importantly, He casts Himself as the "stronger man" who is able to bind Satan, and 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."  My study bible calls blasphemy against the Holy Spirit blasphemy against the divine activity of the Spirit.  That is, blasphemy against pure goodness.   As these men (the scribes who said that By the ruler of the demons He casts out demons) are experts in Scripture and know the divine activity of the Holy Spirit from the Old Testament, their statement comes from a deliberate hardness of heart, a willful refusal to accept God's mercy.  But by tradition we understand that blasphemy is not an "unforgivable sin" and neither does Jesus call it such.  St. John Chrysostom comments that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit would be forgivable if a person were to repent of it.  Christ makes this declaration knowing that those who blaspheme the Spirit are saying that pure, divine goodness is "evil" -- and that by their own choice they are unrepentant and will remain so.

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."  Now His mother and brothers (that is, close male relatives such as step-brothers by an earlier marriage of Joseph, or cousins) come to Him to seek Him out, no doubt reflect the concerns noted earlier in the reading by Mark.  My study bible says that His relatives have not yet understood His identity and mission.  Jesus does not directly reject His relatives, but instead points to an expanded spiritual family, based on the will of My Father.  In this way, He also offers an understanding of His ministry and calling, distressing as it may be to His extended family from Nazareth.

Today's reading gives us a picture of the level of disturbance that Christ's ministry is creating.  Not only have the scribes come down from Jerusalem specifically to claim that By the ruler of the demons He casts out demons, but that He also works through a god of their enemies the Philistines.  It's no small matter -- as of course, we understand from the final trial which will lead to His crucifixion -- to claim such a sort of blasphemy.  We already know that the Pharisees, with whom the scribes work closely, are plotting with the Herodians (followers of Herod, who is tetrarch of Galilee) to destroy Jesus, from yesterday's reading, above.  So the danger is very real.  There's also enough of a threat that His family and extended relations from Nazareth have come to find Him and seek most likely to call Him back home, so that He will cease His travels and the spread of His fame throughout the Jewish communities of Israel and the surrounding Gentile territories.  But none of this is going to happen.  From the beginning, Christ's ministry has been anything but reserved or held back.  Instead, Mark repeatedly uses the word "immediately" to describe the events which happen like little explosions bursting in upon the communities of Israel and into the world.   In this understanding of Christ's manifestation into the world through His public ministry, we see, as He says, the work of the Holy Spirit in the world.  It is rattling all kinds of assumptions and understanding, shaking up the authorities simply through revelation of authority through Christ.  Everybody seems to be going after Jesus, clamoring to see Him, to touch Him, to be healed by Him, to hear what He says.  The religious authorities have been now directly challenged by His healing on the Sabbath of the man with a withered hand, and His declaration to them that the Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.  Here in today's reading He declares His authority even over Satan, whom He has the power to bind.  All of these things are challenges to the established structure of the society and the faith, even directly and openly.  Christ is direct and straightforward about them.  He doesn't beat about the bush, He doesn't use language that couches the truth behind softly mumbled deprecation.  No, His ministry is a straightforward declaration regarding the will of God the Father and also the work of the Holy Spirit.  He has referred to Himself with the somewhat mysterious title Son of Man (used in the Old Testament, but in this case inspired by its use in Daniel 7:13), and also as Lord of the Sabbath.  Everything Jesus is doing is shaking up everyday life.  But ultimately, He refers not to Himself but to God the Father and to the Holy Spirit as inspiration and author of what is happening through His ministry.  He directly informs the scribes they are blaspheming the Holy Spirit, and insists on the deeply serious nature of the offense to God they commit.  Moreover, He expresses to His mother and brothers the spiritual family found in the will of God, a bond with Him that is created through such faith.  These are all bold statements which work to shake up relations on every level, the personal and the public -- even the community of Jews as well as the Roman state, since now even the Herodians are involved.  There is nothing held back in service to God.  And so, Jesus the humble carpenter's son from the small and rather unremarkable town of Nazareth has become the Teacher whom all of Israel is going to see, a challenge to the authorities who plot to destroy Him.  It has all happened in the "immediacy" of the events unfolding in Mark's Gospel, even as our own understanding of God's intervention and will in our own lives can happen seemingly "immediately."  We may follow a long road in ignorance and blindness, to simply suddenly and immediately have our eyes opened to something we couldn't previously see.  God's truth bursts in on us when we, like the Prodigal Son, "come to ourselves."  Do not be surprised when the truth of Christ's calling and the work of God in our own lives shakes up some social structures, pre-established habits and relations, even -- and perhaps especially -- our old ways of thinking and being in the world and negotiated relationships from the past.  The truth breaks in upon us, God's word isn't halfway.  It declares to us the decisions we need to make, the about-face turn of repentance we need to do.  It shakes us up so that we, too, might face relatives and friends who think we must be beside ourselves.  Let us follow our Lord in faith, and be assured by our place in His spiritual family, and His ministry which upsets the world.