By the ruler of the demons He casts out demons

 

 And they went into the 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 Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the sea, after a confrontation with the Pharisees.  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 the 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 the 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."  By now Christ's ministry has expanded so that a "great multitude" follows Him.  His popularity has spread all around not only His home territory but has expanded beyond that.  Perhaps because of the opposition of the Pharisees and scribes, who now plot against Him, His family tries to claim Him for safety, saying that He is out of His mind.  In some sense, in a culture that elevated modesty as a virtue one could say there is a type of scandalous notoriety for the family in all the public attention.

 

  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 was a name used by the Jews to ridicule the worship of the pagan god Baal.  Typical in places where Baal was worshiped (widely in this region of the Middle East at that time), altars and place names heralding Baal were myriad.  Baal means "lord" or "prince," and this particular name means prince of "the dung heap" or lord of "the flies."  Baal was a god worshiped by the Philistines (2 Kings 1:2-16).  Here he is called ruler of the demons.   My study Bible comments that 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."  My study Bible explains that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is blasphemy against the divine activity of the Spirit, 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 was known 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.  In patristic commentary, it's clear that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is not an "unforgivable sin"; nor does Christ ever call it "unforgivable."  According to St. John Chrysostom, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit would be forgivable if a person were to repent of it.  Jesus makes such a declaration here knowing that those who blaspheme the Spirit are calling pure, divine goodness "evil," and they 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 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."   My study Bible comments that Christ's relatives have not yet understood His identity and mission.  He points to a spiritual family which is based on obedience to the will of God.  In Jewish usage of the time, and across the Middle East today, brother may indicate any number of relations.  Abram called his nephew Lot "brother"; Boaz spoke of his cousin Elimelech as his "brother"; and Joab called his cousin Amasa "brother" (Genesis 14:14; Ruth 4:3; 2 Samuel 20:9).  As for Christ Himself, He had no blood brothers, for Mary had but one Son:  Jesus.  These brothers who are mentioned were either stepbrothers (that is, sons of Joseph by a previous marriage), or cousins.  My study Bible cites Jesus committing His mother to the care of St. John at the Cross (John 19:25-27), which would have been unthinkable if Mary had had other children to care for her.  

In today's reading, Jesus says that he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation.  Let us remember that this is in response to the scribes who came down from Jerusalem, who claimed that Jesus cast out demons by the ruler of demons.  My study Bible states that to blaspheme the Holy Spirit is to label the good as evil.  In other words, what Jesus does by the power of the Holy Spirit, in effect casting out demons and healing, is blasphemed by calling it demonic or saying that His power is from the ruler of the demons.  In the tradition of the Bible, Satan is known as the accuser, the one who accuses people before God.  The Holy Spirit, by contrast, is called the Paraklete, which can mean "counselor," or more literally the one who comes when called to be by one's side.  This word in Greek was the common word for what we'd now understand as a lawyer, someone to help us present a defense.  But such work -- to call pure good "evil" -- goes beyond mere accusation and into a frame of mind that is itself very evil.  To do so knowingly is to pervert the truth, to participate in a very heinous lie, and to seek to manipulate a circumstance or appearance in order to, in fact, harm or disable the good.  This  in itself is likely a far worse intent than we'd like to contemplate.  But, unfortunately, not all motivations are good.  In this case, Jesus is growing many followers, He speaks with His own authority, and is now a well-known figure who has opposed the scribes and the Pharisees in some public contexts.  In healing a man with a withered hand on the Sabbath, Jesus not only openly opposed these important figures from the religious establishment, but He showed them up openly and spectacularly by healing the man in clear opposition to them.  In Wednesday's reading, we were told that the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him.  (The Herodians are those who collaborate and support the Herodian dynasty, which ruled for Rome.)  So to call good "evil" is a type of ultimate manipulation, and it's akin in some sense to seeking to kill the good.  It's a deliberate lie that invokes and uses the concept of truth to pervert the truth, for to make such an accusation assumes posing as both true and good.  When we consider Christ's attitude toward hypocrisy, we begin to understand the deeply perverse nature of this type of blasphemy, and how much damage is done to those who might be persuaded, or the innocent and naive who would follow.  To blaspheme the Holy Spirit is to hinder the good in the world, to help that which opposes God, opposes Christ.  In today's reading, Jesus also speaks of those whom He calls His brother and sister and mother -- that these are whoever does the will of God.  In pondering Christ's words, we must consider that the One who speaks isn't simply Jesus the human being, but also the divine Christ, the Creator, the Lord.  Today's reading asks us to think about the creation of the world, and its purpose.  In reading the Bible, we begin with Genesis, in which God creates the cosmos, all created things seen and unseen, including us.  In the creation story, Adam and Eve are set in a walled garden (Eden), a place where they commune freely with God, and given a purpose to be "like" God in also bringing the world out of chaos, to put into order and to fill with creation.  In Genesis 1:28, we read, "Then God blessed them, and God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.' "  But to blaspheme the Spirit is to seek to subvert this essential will of God, not only to act in opposition to it, but to call God's works and God's grace working in us "evil."  One must consider Christ's mission of salvation, and our cooperation with that mission in this context, for the world was not created without purpose or intention. Will we cooperate with grace and seek God's will for ourselves?  Or will we oppose it?  The Pharisees do so today with selfish motives, and Jesus names clearly what they are doing.  

 

 

 

 

 

Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first

 

 "When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none.  Then he says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.'  And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order.  Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first.  So shall it also be with this wicked generation."  

While He was still talking to the multitudes, behold, His mother and brothers stood outside, seeking to speak with Him.  Then one said to Him, "Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with You."  But He answered and said to the one who told Him, "Who is My mother and who are My brothers?"  And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, "Here are My mother and My brothers!  For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother." 

 

- Matthew 12:43-50 

 

On Saturday, we read Jesus' remarks to the Pharisees who had accused Him of casting out demons by the power of Beelzebub, whom they called the ruler of the demons.  Jesus said, "Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.  Brood of vipers!  How can you, being evil, speak good things?  For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.  A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.  But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.  For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.  Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, "Teacher, we want to see a sign from You."  But He answered and said to them, "An evil an adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.  For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.  The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.  The queen of the South will rise up in judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here."

 

  "When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none.  Then he says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.'  And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order.  Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first.  So shall it also be with this wicked generation."   My study Bible comments that when the Israelites were delivered out of Egypt, they did not repent of their impure ways, and an unclean spirit took up residence in their hearts (Deuteronomy 31:20; Psalm 106:34-39).  So, therefore, we are to guard our hearts.  Unless there is full repentance and the Holy Spirit dwells in a person, my study Bible explains, an expelled demon will return with others and re-occupy its above.  

While He was still talking to the multitudes, behold, His mother and brothers stood outside, seeking to speak with Him.  Then one said to Him, "Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with You."  But He answered and said to the one who told Him, "Who is My mother and who are My brothers?"  And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, "Here are My mother and My brothers!  For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother."  My study Bible comments that Christ's relatives have not yet understood His identity and mission.  He points to a spiritual family which is based on obedience to the will of My Father.  My study Bible adds that in Jewish usage, brother can indicate any number of relations.  It cites Abram who called his nephew Lot "brother" (Genesis 14:14); Boaz who spoke of his cousin Elimemlech as his "brother" in Ruth 4:3; and Joab who referred to his cousin Amasa as "brother" (see 2 Samuel 20:9).  My study Bible adds that Christ Himself had no blood brothers, as Mary had only one Son:  Jesus.  The brothers who are mentioned here were either stepbrothers, sons of Joseph by a previous marriage, or cousins.  At the Cross, Jesus commits His mother to the care of His disciple John (John 19:25-27).  This would have been unthinkable if Mary had had other children to care for her.  

We might find Jesus' words strange, in the early part of today's reading.  He speaks of a person as a kind of a house, in which an unclean spirit once dwelt.  But the spirit goes out into the world and finds only "dry places," and finds no rest.  The spirit returns to the house to find it cleaned up, swept, and in order.  And so the unclean spirit gathers "seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first."   We should remember that He is speaking to the Pharisees (and scribes) who have accused Him of casting out demons by the power of demons; even by the power of "Beelzebub" whom they call the ruler of the demons.  This is a warning to them about the importance of spiritual consistency.  That is, it is not enough to be "cleaned and swept," to follow all the rules that declare holiness or cleanliness.  But it is essential to be more than that, to be consistent and persistent in our faith, so that we are actively involved with prayer and the love of God in what we do, and seeking God's way for us in our lives.  As He will remind them in the words of Isaiah, "These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me" (Matthew 15:8). Recently I heard a sermon on the passage of the woman with the twelve year flow of blood (or hemorrhage) as told in this reading.  The priest giving the sermon pointed out that what was necessary in her case was that she took the initiative -- she reached out to Christ with faith.  She touched the hem of His garment in hope of being healed.  It seems that Christ's preaching to the Pharisees in today's reading backs up that understanding of the passage.  It's not enough that we simply take care that we are doing no wrong.  Instead, our seemingly passionate, "jealous" and loving God wants us to take the initiative, and be as involved as we can be with God's healing embrace, and especially calling upon the energies and power of Christ, as did that woman with the twelve year flow of blood.  We are to be engaged with our faith, active in it, even if that means we devote time to prayer, we participate in our sacraments and services, we call upon God for help, we engage as actively as we can so that the Holy Spirit dwells in us.  For everything we read in the Gospels affirms the notion that we need to be actively engaged in pursuit of God, like that woman.  We need to affirm our commitments and grow in our faith, and if that is difficult, then we need at least to be asking, seeking, and knocking (Matthew 7:7).  In the second part of today's reading, we understand that those whom He will consider to be close to Him, His family, are those who seek the will of the Father and to do it -- and this is yet another affirmation that we need to be actively engaged in seeking our faith.  For the Lord wants those who will return His love.  As Jesus, He came into the world seeking His own, with a mission to save, to endure the Cross and human death in order to make it possible for all of us to dwell with Him.  That kind of love does not want those who are lukewarm, but those who can return that love.  A few readings earlier, we read that Jesus taught, "And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force" (Matthew 11:12, in this reading).  One way of interpreting that passage is to understand the ardent zeal with which those who would belong to this Kingdom are pressing into it, desiring to be a part of it, and use of the word "violence" is meant in this sense.  Let us consider, in the world which we might often find simply "lukewarm" to our faith, what it means to passionately pursue Christ, as we would pursue One who is beloved and dear to us.  Let us make our own pursuit of faith as much an ardent priority as He did His pursuit of us and our salvation to be with Him. 

 

 

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"

 

 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 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 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."   One thing we must notice about our recent readings is that so many people now follow Christ that He has drawn the attention of the religious leaders, who now plot against Him with the followers of Herod's court (see Thursday's reading).  This means that the powerful people who rule Galilee, where Christ's family lives in the town of Nazareth, are now helping to plot against Him.  So His extended family (His own people) are very likely justly frightened of this scrutiny.  Moreover, we're told in John's Gospel, speaking of extended family, that "even His own brothers did not believe in Him" (John 7:5).  At this stage, they likely come for Him as they are frightened for Him, and so want to draw Him out of the public eye and bring Him back home.  To feign insanity in order to avoid persecution is something familiar in the Scriptures (see 1 Samuel 21:12-15, which David did so), and perhaps a way they think He will not be held responsible.

And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, "He has Beelzebub," and, "By the ruler of the demons He casts out demons."  Here we're given to understand that there are scribes who've come down from Jerusalem, the center of religious and community rule of Israel, perhaps particularly for the purpose of observing Christ's ministry -- another thing which would no doubt fuel the fears of Christ's family.  The scribes pronounce Jesus to be possessed by Beelzebub, and claim that it is by the ruler of the demons He casts out demons.  My study Bible explains that Beelzebub, or Baal, was the prince of "the dung heap" or lord of "the flies" -- a god worshiped by the Philistines (2 Kings 1:2-16).  Here the scribes from Jerusalem refer to him  as the ruler of the demons.  In other words, Satan.

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 comments that the impossibility here illustrated by Christ of demons fighting against themselves shows the irrational pride and envy of the scribes and Pharisees in their opposition to Jesus.  Jesus refutes both the implication that He is out of His mind, and that He works through demons, and goes forward more deeply into declaring Himself:  He is indeed the stronger man, who binds the strong man (Satan) and will plunder his house.  Jesus has come to claim and to redeem a world, to bind Satan and plunder his house -- to claim the souls held there.

"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 explains that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is blasphemy against the divine activity of the Spirit.  That is, it is blasphemy against pure goodness.  The divine activity of the Spirit is something known, particularly to these experts in the religion, because it is fully expressed throughout the Old Testament.  Therefore, such blasphemy is not forgiven as it comes from a  willful hardness of heart and a refusal to accept God's mercy.  According to patristic commentary, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is not an "unforgivable sin" and neither does Jesus ever call it "unforgivable."  According to St. John Chrysostom, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit would be forgivable if a person were to repent of it.  My study Bible comments that 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 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."  My study Bible comments (echoing John's Gospel as noted above) that Christ's relatives have not yet understood His identity and mission.  There is no doubt they are likely responding to the scrutiny and plots against Him by the religious leaders, and are particularly alarmed by the scribes pronouncing Him to be working through the ruler of the demons.  And again, confronted with their fears, He goes beyond even this immediate concern of family, and asserts what is a greater family -- one which is based on obedience to the will of God.  In Jewish usage, my study Bible explains, brother can indicate any number of relations.  Abram called his nephew Lot "brother" (Genesis 14:14); Boaz spoke of his cousin Elimelech as his "brother" (Ruth 4:3); and Joab called his cousin Amasa "brother" (2 Samuel 20:9).  Christ Himself had no blood brothers, as Mary had but one Son:  Jesus.  The brothers mentioned here are therefore either stepbrothers, sons of Joseph by a previous marriage, or cousins.  Indeed, at the Cross Jesus commits the care of His mother to John His disciple (John 19:25-27).  This would have been culturally unthinkable if Mary had other children to care for her.

In a commentary on John, St. Augustine writes of Jesus' mother Mary:  "She did the Father’s will. It was this in her that the Lord magnified, not merely that her flesh gave birth to flesh.… When he said, "Blessed are they who hear the Word of God and keep it," He was in effect saying: "My mother whom you have called blessed is blessed for the reason that she keeps the Word of God, not that the Word was made flesh in her and dwelt among us, but that she keeps the very Word of God through which she was made and which was made flesh in her."  Elsewhere he writes, "Mary is more blessed in receiving the faith of Christ than in conceiving the flesh of Christ," and moreover that "her nearness as a mother would have been little help for her salvation if she had not borne Christ in her heart in a more blessed manner than in the flesh."  Perhaps the greatest testimony to Mary's devout character and faith in the will of God is her simple response to the Angel Gabriel at the Annunciation of the birth of Christ (Luke 1:26-38): "Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word."   Through St. John's care of Christ's mother, we know that she was indeed a close member of the community of the apostles and the faithful.  The fact that she was at the Cross tells us all we need to know about her dedication to her Son and to His ministry.   So, when Christ teaches that "whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and mother," then we must assume that His mother is included in that greater spiritual family that Christ has come to build up in the world, those who love the goodness of God and the working of the Holy Spirit.  From the earliest times of the Church, the veneration of Mary as saint comes from this understanding.  Indeed, right from the beginning, Mary and Jesus' earthly guardian, St. Joseph, sheltered Him from persecution and cared for Him as One special to God (see Matthew 2:13-23).  This makes Mary one whose devotion to God is integral to her love of her Son and her role as Mother.  In the history of the Church, she is the one who becomes Mother for millions, as she is known and remembered through those asking for prayers as one who turns no one away, whose compassion may be invoked for intercession, just as we would ask the prayers of kind people in our lives.  In the history of the Church Mary has been given many names for the various kinds of intercession people have experienced through prayer.  It is intriguing to consider how much of Christ's human character was learned from His mother.  We know through Christ of God's love and compassion, but the special woman who could fill this role as mother to Christ must also have had her own quality of insight, compassion, tenderness, and understanding.  We also know of her suffering for love of her Son, and for her faith in God.  So the Church has seen in her through the ages.  Let us also understand the significance of Christ's words, for He points to a family created in and through the Holy Spirit, even as Jesus was born to Mary through the Holy Spirit.  He calls us to this family, to His brother and sister and mother.  It is in that family where we may also experience Mary as Mother, among all the other brothers, sisters, and even mothers we will find there.

 

 

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 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, 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 they went into a house. 

 

  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 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 that Beelzebub, or Baal, was a god worshiped by the Philistines (2 Kings 1:2-16).  There were many names for Baal as particular places and individual sites of worship were dedicated to the god.  In this case, Beelzebub is a name used to ridicule the god, meaning prince of the "dung heap" or lord of "the flies."  Here the scribes call this god the ruler of the demons.  Jesus evokes a scenario in which the demons fight the demons, asking, "How can Satan cast out Satan?" to show the impossibility of their accusation.  My study Bible says that this 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."  My study Bible tells us that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit means a blasphemy against the divine activity of the Spirit, blasphemy against pure goodness.  A sin against the Son of Man is more easily forgiven because the Jews did not know much about Christ, a note reads.  But blasphemy against the Spirit, whose divine activity was known from the Old Testament, will not be forgiven because it comes from a willful hardness of heart and a refusal to accept the mercy of God.  Additionally, in patristic literature it's clear that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is not an "unforgivable sin"; nor does Jesus ever call it "unforgivable."  According to St. John Chrysostom, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit would be forgivable if a person were to repent of it.  This declaration is made by Christ 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 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."  My study Bible says that Christ's relatives have not yet understood His identity and mission.  He points us to a spiritual family based on obedience to the will of God.

Jesus says that His family (My brother and My sister and mother) is whoever does the will of God.  When we stop to consider God's will, we must think about the Scripture that tells us that God is love (1 John 4:8).  If we know that God is love, then we understand that God's will is love.  We read in the Scriptures all about God's will, God's commands, and the stories of those who have been obedient to God throughout the spiritual history we know from the Bible.  We read the Scriptures and seek as best we can to follow that will.  But nonetheless, we must understand overall that God's will is love, and can be nothing but love, for this is how we know God. When we think of a family, we have to ask ourselves, what do we want between family members, for a true relationship, but love?  Many consider that family relations are defined by bloodlines, or DNA matches.  We can formally define family relationship also through marriage, and ties to different clans through marriage.  Many families have their own codes of behavior or patterns passed down from generation to generation, either in traditions or other types of behaviors.  This is also dependent upon historical circumstances that have shaped a family's life, and cultural traditions from different places around the world.  But we should stop to consider if by flesh alone -- or even tradition or inheritance alone -- we have love.  Flesh, it seems to me, can go one way or the other.  But to follow the will of God, what does that take?  We can learn from loving examples, but ultimately Christ asks us to look to God.  For mother, brother, sister, and earthly father all may fail in some aspect or another.  But if we want a true family relationship, what else do we want but love?  All of us should understand this command of Christ.  In the context of today's reading, it may seem rather shocking that Jesus says what He says to His family, especially to His mother who cherished all the things prophesied about her Son right from the beginning, and pondered them in her heart (Luke 2:19).  But love is always a command, for love is what truly makes a family, and love is what we want in all of our relationships.  This love that we understand from God is true righteousness.  Let us not forget that Jesus has left us with a new command, to "love one another as I have loved you" (John 13:34-35).  For if we endeavor to love, and set ourselves to love by the example He has shown, we will be modeling the relationships we want, both in blood family, and in our churches, and with our "brothers" and "sisters" and "mothers" everywhere.  One might want to ask, what is a family without this love?

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

 But 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 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."   We can now see what a stir Jesus is making, for while there are people wildly seeking Him out for the healings they have heard about, there is also trouble, and He has opponents.  His family apparently hears rumors, that people are saying, "He is out of His mind."  Earlier, we have heard Him refer to Himself as Son of Man, a messianic title from Daniel 7 (see Saturday's reading).  He is also openly contradiction the religious leadership, and speaking with authority, although He does not have a recognizable earthly authority, such as a famous rabbi as a teacher, and neither is He part of the established religious authority Himself.  Clearly the religious authorities hold great power, and we are told, for example, in John's Gospel, that the people don't speak openly midst controversy about Jesus for fear of them (John 7:10-13).  In this light, we understand the fear of Christ's family members, and their concern to lay hold of Him.  Let us also recall that by this time the Pharisees are plotting with the Herodians to destroy Him (3:6).

And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, "He has Beelzebub," and, "By the ruler of the demons He casts out demons."  Fitting in tandem with claims that Jesus is out of His mind, the scribes claim that He has a demon, and that by the ruler of the demons He casts out demons.  Beelzebub is a title for the god Baal, worshipped by the Philistines.  This is the prince of "the dung heap" or lord of "the flies" -- possibly a corruption used by the Jews in order to slur the title used by the Philistines (2 Kings 1:2-16).  Here this god is called ruler of the demons, and the accusation is that Jesus uses demonic power to perform His exorcisms.

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 uses perfect logic to demolish the accusations leveled against Him, when He asks, "How can Satan cast out Satan?"   He also emphasizes the understanding that spiritual battle is a part of life in this world, although unseen by us, and that He plays a role in that battle, His power so effective that He is the stronger man, who can bind the "strong man" of this world, Satan, and plunder his house.  My study bible says that the impossibility of demons fighting against themselves illustrates the irrational pride and envy of the religious leaders in 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."   My study bible explains that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit means blasphemy against the divine activity of God (the Holy Spirit), and is blasphemy against pure goodness.  Those who accuse Him of casting out demons by the power of demons know full well the work of the Holy Spirit from the Old Testament.  Such an accusation expresses a willful hardness of heart, and a refusal to accept God's mercy.  My study bible also adds that the Patristic Fathers are clear that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is not an "unforgivable sin" and neither does Jesus call it "unforgivable."  St. John Chrysostom says that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit would be forgivable if a person were to repent of it.  My study bible adds that Jesus makes this declaration knowing that those who blaspheme the Spirit are calling pure, divine goodness "evil," and that they are beyond repentance by their own choice.  Hence, this is a stark warning by Jesus.

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."   My study bible remarks that Christ's relatives have not yet understood His identity and mission (see above, as well, the earlier verses in today's reading).  Jesus points to a spiritual family, based on obedience to the will of God.

Around what do we group our identity, our loyalty, our leadership in life?  How do we find an understanding of what it means to be part of a group, or what we define as our group?  In life there are all kinds of ways to consider what it is that we belong to in terms of identity:  family, neighborhood, school, clubs, church denomination, etc.  But Christ points to something that transcends everything else:  the will of  God.  He points to a family that is first of all, before all else, grouped around a loyalty to and love of God.  Above all, we could say, those people to whom He points around Himself, the people whom He names "My brother and My sister and mother" are those people who seek the will of God, who care about finding what God wants of them, who seek as best they can to love God.  None of us is perfect in the sense that we all know the will of God as something absolute or in its fullest sense.  Only God can know God fully and completely in terms of God's real existence.  It must be a given that to do the will of God is to do so to the best of one's ability, and in accordance with faith.  But to love God -- and especially to trust in God -- is the true root of what it means to have faith, and to seek that will for ourselves.  If we turn to God simply in times of trouble or need, well that is one thing, and it may truly be a gateway to a deeper and greater faith.  But the kind of faith that Jesus speaks about in today's reading, that really creates family, is one that seeks out God, and seeks to find and do what is pleasing to God, within the context of a communion of love.  It is an obedience that rests upon trust, for trust is the root of the word for faith.  It is all about acting upon a belief that it is God who holds our best interest at heart, and a community or family that is created out of that basic start, that foundation of identity.  The stories contained in today's reading emphasize the element of choice at work in this, because there is a clear contrast between what Jesus offers and the criticism of the religious leaders.  There is a clear contrast also fully stated by Christ when He suggests that evil would not cast out evil, and He leaves open the conclusion that therefore He must be an opponent to the demons, and a stronger one at that, one capable of overcoming the "strong man" of this world.  It is an image that suggests that Christ is One who comes to claim a kingdom and to take it away from a usurper, a usurper who may hold sway in our world but who is nevertheless an enemy that needs to be cast out through the presence of the Kingdom and its power which comes more potently into the world through Christ's ministry.  When Jesus claims family in this community of believers, He is also telling us about the nature of this Kingdom and this power, that it is rooted in love with God as Father.  But for today, let us consider and ask ourselves what it means to seek to do the will of God.  How do we know God's will, really?  How do we cultivate a deeper communion with God, a kind of discernment that helps us to understand where God wants us to go with our lives?  How do we seek that will?  Knowing that we are not perfect, but rather meant to grow, we start with our prayer lives.  We cultivate time together with God, so to speak, the same as we would with any person with whom we sought a closer and more intimate, knowing relationship.  We might find worship services and all the varied opportunities in the Church will help to shore up our desire to find God more deeply.  For myself, there is nowhere more powerful than during a worship service to find my forgiveness for those who've harmed me.  We also read Scripture to seek its hints and glimmering of meanings held out to us in prayerful consideration.  It is inexplicable how levels of meaning come to us when and where we need them.  Most of all we may go into the heart, where we stand before God, and truly ask ourselves what we put before God, and where God may be asking us to open up more deeply to spiritual understanding -- to the things we need to claim, and to the things we need to put aside.  Let us consider what it is to be and to have a brother, a sister, a mother in the context of this faith and the will of God -- for in so doing we will learn how Christ wishes us to be a part of this family.  We may even learn more deeply what mother, brother, and sister can become in the image of God's love.

Whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother

Virgin and Child.  Mosaic, 1315-1321.  Holy Savior in Chora Church, Constantinople (Istanbul)

 "When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none.  Then he says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.'  And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order.  Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first.  So shall it also be with this wicked generation."

While He was still talking to the multitudes, behold, His mother and brothers stood outside, seeking to speak with Him.  Then one said to Him, "Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with You."  But He answered and said to the one who told Him, "Who is My mother and who are My brothers?"  And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, "Here are My mother and My brothers!  For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother."

- Matthew 12:43-50

On Saturday, we read of Jesus' continuing encounter with the Pharisees, after their accusation that He cast out demons by the power of demons.  He said, "Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.  Brood of vipers!  How can you, being evil, speak good things?  For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.  A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.  But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.  For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."  Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, "Teacher, we want to see a sign from You."  But He answered and said to them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.  For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.  The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.  The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here."

 "When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none.  Then he says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.'  And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order.  Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first.  So shall it also be with this wicked generation."  My study bible comments that when the Israelites were delivered out of Egypt, they did not repent of their impure ways, and an unclean spirit took up residence in their hearts (Deuteronomy 31:20; Psalm 105:34-39).  Therefore, we are taught to guard our hearts.  Without true repentance and the invitation of the Holy Spirit to dwell in the heart of a person, my study bible says, an expelled demon will return with others reoccupy its abode.  This serves to emphasize the need for vigilance in the inner life, and also constant prayer.  Our faith is not a one-time declaration, but an ongoing commitment, a practice of struggle for awareness, growth, and dynamic internal movement. 

While He was still talking to the multitudes, behold, His mother and brothers stood outside, seeking to speak with Him.  Then one said to Him, "Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with You."  But He answered and said to the one who told Him, "Who is My mother and who are My brothers?"  And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, "Here are My mother and My brothers!  For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother."  My study bible suggests that Christ's relatives haven't yet understood His identity and mission.  Jesus points to a spiritual family based on obedience to the will of My Father.  My study bible also reminds us that in Jewish usage (and for that matter, still today across the Middle and Near East), brother can indicate any number of relations.  In some examples from Scripture, Abram called his nephew Lot "brothers (Genesis 14:14); Boaz spoke of his cousin Elimelech as his "brother" (Ruth 4:3), and Joab called his cousin Amasa "brother" (2 Samuel 20:9).  The Church by tradition upholds that Jesus Himself had no blood brothers, for Mary had only one Son.  The brothers, therefore, who are mentioned here are either stepbrothers (that is, sons of Joseph by an earlier marriage), or cousins.  As further evidence of this, Jesus commits His mother to the care of His disciple at the Cross (John 19:25-27), an unthinkable gesture if Mary had other children to care for her.

Jesus began His present discourse to the Pharisees after they had accused Him of casting out demons by the power of Beelzebub, whom they refer to as the "ruler of the demons" (see Friday's reading).  Jesus' initial response was to teach that to blaspheme the Spirit -- in other words, their calling the work of the Spirit in Christ's ministry "evil" -- is to participate in a kind of sin that must be repented.  To criticize Him personally is one thing, but to call the holy work of the Spirit in the world "evil" is another.  Here in today's reading, He continues that train of thought, teaching that true spiritual commitment requires an ongoing awareness and vigilance about who we are and what we are, and especially paying attention to the heart and the words that come out of our mouths.  All of these things are connected.  Jesus teaches that "when an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none.  Then he says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.'  And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order.  Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first.  So shall it also be with this wicked generation."   It is an illustration of a paradigm, an understanding that spiritual life is always in motion, and not stagnant.  We don't make a decision one day and say that we belong to Christ, and then fail to act on that decision every day, in the moments of our lives in which we elect to remember this and act on it -- or not.  In other words, there is a kind of vigilance that belongs to spiritual endeavor.  It is a matter of guarding the heart, of recognizing who we are and to whom we belong, and of exercising this discipline of commitment.  We're not "neutral" according to Jesus' illustration.  As a psychologist once put it to me, we're either going in one direction or the other.   Jesus speaks of a kind of continuum, a constant process toward something or away from it.  In the second part of today's reading, He teaches us what precisely it is He asks us to be going toward:  a union of love for God the Father by seeking to live God's will for us, and in turn we are also united toward others within that same "family."  This goal or end point gives us a full set of relations, a network based in faith, love, and trust of God.  And in Jesus' statement today, we can read that it transcends even our closest relationships based on other types of commonality, even blood family.  Let us note that Jesus is not rejecting family.  What He speaks about is a union of relationship within a spiritual bond to God who is love.  Within that bond, we have a definition of what true relationship is like, a goal toward which it goes, a definition and measuring stick of what constitutes love and goodness and health.  Let us consider Jesus' emphasis on a constant vigilance regarding our priorities, our commitment to what is good and true.  Where does God ask you to begin today?  How do you affirm this, even for a moment?  Do you have an old hurt that needs to be redressed under the protection of the Holy Spirit and prayer?  Take time to remember God, take time for prayer, even in the midst of your day.  You never know how you might help others, or what the power of that prayer will be for yourself.  Let us note once again this is an active process; when we take even a minute for prayer to seek Gods' will, so we participate as He asks.

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.

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 it 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 to plot with the Herodians 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, 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."  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' fame grows exponentially. We're told in recent readings that people come to see Him from all over Israel, and even from Tyre and Sidon, not merely from Galilee.  There are such great crowds who come to see Him that no one can even have a meal in the house.  The scribes come down from Jerusalem.  All eyes are on Him, so to speak.   At this His own people begin to panic (that is, His relatives from Galilee); they themselves go to lay hold of Him.  His behavior is unseemly, it's completely public, He's upsetting the leadership.   The scribes claim that He has Beelzebub, and casts out demons by the ruler of the demons.  Beelzebub was a Jewish reference to the god Baal; it was a slur of the title given to Baal by the Philistines who worshiped Baal; it means prince of "the dung heap" or lord of "the flies" (2 Kings 1:2-16).  Here the scribes call him the ruler of the demons.  Jesus replies with a commonsense and rational answer, which also tells us something about Himself:  He is the stronger man who plunders the house of Satan with His own power and authority.  My study bible tells us that 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 it subject to eternal condemnation" -- because they said, "He has an unclean spirit."   My study bible explains that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is blasphemy against the divine action of the Spirit.  That is a 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 these Scriptural experts know from the Old Testament, will not be forgiven.  It comes from a willful hardness of heart, a refusal to accept the mercy of God.  The Church Fathers teach that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is not an "unforgivable sin" and nor does Jesus ever call it "unforgivable."  According to St. John Chrysostom, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit would be forgivable if one were to repent of it.  Jesus makes this declaration knowing that those who blaspheme the Spirit are calling pure, divine goodness "evil."  They are beyond repentance by their hard-heartedness, their own choice to be 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." My study bible tells us that Christ's family hasn't yet understood His identity and mission and the nature of His unfolding ministry.  With all the publicity and the hostility of the leaders, it is most likely startling and unseemly.  We read above that His "own people" think He is out of His mind,  and we know how His own townspeople will react to Him (Mark 6:1-6).  Jesus points to a spiritual family, which is based on obedience to the will of God.   It also notes that in Jewish usage, brother can indicate any number of relations.  Abraham called his nephew Lot "brother" (Genesis 14:14); Boaz spoke of his cousin Elimelech as his "brother" (Ruth 4:3); and Joab called his cousin Amasa "brother" (2 Samuel 20:9).  Mary had one son, Jesus.  The brothers mentioned here are possibly step-brothers (sons of Joseph by a previous marriage), or cousins.  At the Cross, Jesus commits His mother to the care of John Zebedee (John 19:25-27), unthinkable if Mary had had other children to care for her.

We can imagine how startling and even strange Jesus' ministry must be at this stage.  He's being called one who works by the ruler of the demons by the religious leadership; His family thinks He is out of His mind.  His mother and brothers come inquiring after Him.  We might find it startling that His mother Mary is included here; she, after all, is the one who was given the divine word through Gabriel about the child she was to bear.   She was told that He would be called the Son of the Highest, and that He would receive the throne of His father David.  To all of it Mary replied, "Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word" (see Luke 1:26-38).   But nothing is spoken here of revealing precisely how all this would come about, and what the nature of His ministry would be.  Perhaps the closest a prophesy comes to telling Mary just what to expect is Simeon's prophecy, made when Jesus is presented in the temple as an infant:  "Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against (yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed" (see Luke 2:25-35).  Nevertheless, this is not a rebuke of His mother (nor even His brothers).  Rather it is a statement, as my study bible says, of where true relationship comes from and what constitutes family for Him.  Neither does it exclude His mother.  St. Augustine writes of Mary, "She did the Father’s will. It was this in her that the Lord magnified, not merely that her flesh gave birth to flesh.… When He said, 'Blessed are they who hear the Word of God and keep it,' He was in effect saying: 'My mother whom you have called blessed is blessed for the reason that she keeps the Word of God, not that the Word was made flesh in her and dwelt among us, but that she keeps the very Word of God through which she was made and which was made flesh in her'" (Tractate on John 10.3.2).  In other words, the honor He gives even His mother isn't merely of the flesh, but there's a higher and greater honor in those who love the will of God, and in that Mary is most blessed, as is affirmed here by Christ Himself.  How would our lives look if we gave this honor to one another -- if we honored in those around us the love of God?  It is a focus on the heart, an emphasis that elevates not a kind of coded snobbery of those whose faith is obvious or apparent.  Jesus' railing against religious hypocrisy sees us through that!  Instead, it is a kind of devotion to pure goodness, one that values true discernment, a love of the Good itself, that constitutes true relationship and relatedness to Christ, an internal honor that is in fact the substance of true family.  Let us consider what links us to Him in truth, what we elevate in our hearts, and to Whom we owe true obedience.  It is the most important question we answer, the way we need to find where we belong.