Mark 3:20-35
In our reading this morning we see some of Jesus family members come and try to take charge of him.
- Why? Because they thought he was crazy.
- They thought he was out of his mind.
- They thought he had gone “over the edge”.
- They thought he was crazy because of what he was doing.
- Preaching about the kingdom of God…healing…and debating with powerful officials.
- You can sense the agony of the conflict as you hear the story of how family members decided among themselves to “put him away quietly”…
- Before he did any more damage to himself and them.
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
OK…so what is really going on here?
- You see…Jesus had left home and the carpentry business his father Joseph had set up in Nazareth.
- Jesus’ departure had directly affected the financial security of his family.
- Because he was the oldest son of a deceased father.
- In Jewish culture…as the oldest son…Jesus was responsible for the security of the entire family.
- And Jesus had become an itinerant preacher…which had no security for him or for his family.
- And there was a lot of gossip in Nazareth when that happened.
- The family was embarrassed by what appeared to be an act of an irresponsible man.
Why? Because Jesus was on a head-on collision course with the orthodox religious leaders of his day.
- No sensible man would deliberately agitate the PTB (The Powers That Be).
- Jesus’ family knew that Jesus could not win in a battle with the priests…the Pharisees…and the Sadducees (the Jewish ruling elite).
- The conflict with the religious leaders rose to fever pitch when the religious leaders accused Jesus of being “possessed by Beelzebub” saying:
- “He is driving out demons by the prince of demons”.
- Jesus’ family and friends thought he was “beside himself”.
And then Jesus says something rather interesting.
- He says: “Who are my mother and my brothers?” And looking at those who sat around him…he said: “Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”
- The key to understanding this is Jesus saying:
- “Whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven…he is guilty of an eternal sin”.
And so…what is this unforgivable sin?
- If we lie…but regret…we can be forgiven.
- If we dishonor one another…but regret…we can be forgiven.
- If we hurt one another…but regret…we can be forgiven.
- If we hurt God…but regret…we can be forgiven.
One of the activities of the Holy Spirit is to bring us to the point where we are willing to forgive and be forgiven.
- To blaspheme or curse the Holy Spirit means to stubbornly cling to our own thoughts and opinions with an unwillingness to forgive and be forgiven.
- This hard-heartedness had set like concrete in the hearts of the Pharisees who were never regretful or repentant.
The unforgivable sin is not to repent or to have no regret.
- God’s will is that we have regret and be remorseful.
- That attitude of regret or repentance is what constitutes the faith family and brings reconciliation to the family of faith.
- In this context…Jesus would have meant that it especially included his own biological family.
So…reconciliation DID come to Jesus’ family members at the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus.
- We do not really know how it happened.
- But…we only know that it happened.
Mary and Jesus’ brothers were there with the believers in earnest prayer.
- Somehow…they had seen the amazing integrity that Jesus possessed.
- And had become followers of the Way.
- Through forgiveness they had joined the faith family.
- Later we are told that James…Jesus’ brother…became the head of the church at the council of Jerusalem.
- James had come a long way from wanting to put Jesus away to heading up the church.
- And Jesus’ family came to know the joy of forgiveness through the power of the resurrected Lord.
- They still believed that Jesus was out of his mind…
- But in a different way than they had originally thought.
- Here is what I mean.
Despite a long day at work and a cold coming on…it was Mary’s night to staff the soup kitchen our church helped to sponsor.
- People were depending on her.
- So…with extra Kleenex…water…Tylenol and a face mask…she went downtown.
- Mary was certainly out of her mind.
Aidan…a disciple in our parish…was in the middle of a meeting with prospective buyers.
- This deal had been in the works for months.
- But the prospective buyers insisted on changes to the original agreement.
- There was money to be made…
- But a lot of good and talented employees would lose their jobs.
- And the customer service protocols Aidan had worked so hard to establish would be seriously compromised.
- So…Aidan walked away from the deal.
- Aidan was certainly out of his mind.
The kids loved hockey…but things were getting out of hand.
- Every weekend from October to April was spent at hockey rinks…
- Some a two-hour drive from their home.
- The games were great…but making it work was taking a toll on everyone.
- So…Sarah and Rich…disciples of a church I had been serving…put on the breaks.
- Their kids were all great skaters…the engines of their teams.
- But it was not working for their life as a family.
- They must have been out of their minds.
Yes…we must be “out of our minds” to do as Jesus would do.
- But to follow Jesus means putting aside the mindset of:
- Me-first…it’s-not-my-fault…take-responsibility-for-yourself…my-time-is-too-important-for-the-likes-of-you.
- For the sake of what is right and just.
- For the sake of those we love.
- For the sake of the common good.
- God asks us to act as Jesus would.
- Even if those around us think we are “out of our minds.”
- But what others consider crazy can be the wisest…sanest and most faithful thing we do.