Gospel: Mark 3:20-25
20 The crowd came together again, so that they could not even eat. 21 When his family heard it, they went out to restrain him, for people were saying, ‘He has gone out of his mind.’ 22 And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, ‘He has Beelzebul, and by the ruler of the demons he casts out demons.’ 23 And he called them to him, and spoke to them in parables, ‘How can Satan cast out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. 26 And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but his end has come. 27 But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his property without first tying up the strong man; then indeed the house can be plundered.
28 ‘Truly I tell you, people will be forgiven for their sins and whatever blasphemies they utter; 29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin’— 30 for they had said, ‘He has an unclean spirit.’
31 Then his mother and his brothers came; and standing outside, they sent to him and called him. 32 A crowd was sitting around him; and they said to him, ‘Your mother and your brothers and sisters are outside, asking for you.’ 33 And he replied, ‘Who are my mother and my brothers?’ 34 And looking at those who sat around him, he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.’
Who are my mother and my brothers?
St. Mark starts by telling us how big the crowd that followed Jesus was so large that "they had no time to eat.” The more people followed Jesus, the more animosity the religious authority had for Him. They would try to present the man as a tool in the hands of evil spirits, referring to His miracles as from the evil powers. "It is by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he is driving out demons.” Luke 11:15.
A second attempt to minimize or even annihilate His reputation and His influence was to accuse Him of mental madness. The most convincing way to do that is to call upon His own family members to come and take care of Him. Their presence, intervention and withdrawing Him from the midst of the crowd would be the best evidence of His insanity. Behind the lines of this text we can detect this kind of conspiracy. It is known, especially in this eastern culture, that the oppression of kin is more offensive and bitter to a person than a sword that has two sharp edges. The man was teaching in Capernaum and the family, responding to some gossip, came down from Nazareth and asked to withdraw Him from the crowd. "Your mother, brothers and sisters are outside asking for you" verse 32.
The presence of His mother at this event brought many questions. Is it to protect Him because she knows who He is? Is it to show solidarity with the family in order to alleviate their wrath against her son? Again, the mother of Jesus was there. We have already seen her present with her son at the wedding in Cana, where she was serving as a family member when she told Him, "They have no more wine" in John 2:3. Then she went down with their family to Capernaum after the miracle of changing the water into wine. (John 2:12) She is now here caring for her son. She will be present at the foot of the Cross...
Aware of all that is going on around Him, Jesus remained Himself, strong as a rock, gentle as a breeze, never shaken by the wind, and continuing His teaching with His amiable way of dealing with this kind of challenges. He didn't say anything against His relatives. More convincing, He is going to give a new dimension of family belonging. He is not denying His physical kinship, but He referred to a stronger kinship - which is the spiritual one. Respecting the first and promoting the latter, He replied, "Who are my mother and my brothers and sisters?" Then He pointed out to the listening crowd, “They are those who listen to my words and put them into practice.” Faith in the Word of God becomes the new foundation of kinship. This reminds us of what Jesus said to Mary Magdalene after His resurrection, "Go to my brothers and tell them...”John 20:17.
By our faith and unity in Jesus's person and word, we are the body of Christ, brothers and sisters who together are taught how to pray, “Our Father..." Our bloodline is not to be neglected, but we need to be aware of spiritual kinships. It is important at this time when Christian witness is needed, not only with words and slogans, but in our daily commitments, trying to be God's hands, building up our families and congregations within this new nature of kinship.
May we ask ourselves to what extent we believe in spiritual relationships, and a further step, how do we express these relations in our lives? We are invited to reconsider our affinity with our family members, reconcile if needed, give positive care, forgive, and assist with joyful faith. Could we say with St. Paul, “The only thing that counts (in my life) is faith working through love” Galatians 5:6b? Let us proclaim this as an article of faith rooted in the Apostolic Church saying, “As for my family (Jesus’s family) and me, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:15
Happy are we if we are among those towards whom Jesus pointed His finger and said, “These are my mother, brothers and sisters!" Amen.
Father Kamal - June 6, 2021