“Some incidental discoveries”

By Rev. Michael Stonhouse

Meditation – Tuesday, January 17, 2023

Mark 3:19b-35 (Forward, p. 80) CEV p. 1029

In today’s passages about Jesus’ ministry we uncover two instances of what today would be called ‘damage control.’ The term is used these days when a well-known and prominent figure has said or done something publicly that would seriously erode his or her reputation and standing—a gaff of some sort, you might say. The term is most often used in relation to politicians as they are often the ones in the public spotlight and thus more likely to caught up—and tripped up--by something they said or did.

The first instance of attempted ‘damage control’ came from Jesus’ own family. They had heard that Jesus has become so busy that He’d not even had a chance to eat, so they came to ‘rescue’ Him, as it were. Indeed, according to Mark’s rendition, “they thought he was crazy and went to get him under control” (verse 21). So, the idea was to bring Him home where He would be out of the public spotlight for a while. This, we learn, was a tried and true method back then of removing someone considered a public nuisance or embarrassment from public view and thus preventing any possible official sanction or action against that person. It was a good Palestinian way of ‘keeping family secrets to themselves’ and out of the limelight.

While that first instance of ‘damage control’ was well-meaning, well-intended, the second was not. It was contrived by Jesus’ opposition, namely some teachers of the Law of Moses. They attempted a tactic that is widely used in the political sphere, both then and not. They accused Jesus of working in league with the devil, but worse still, of being under the power of Beelzebul and forcing out demons with his help. It was an age-old smear campaign, an attempt to label Jesus and discredit Him.

But then Jesus exposes the basic fallacy in their thinking. If the devil was indeed helping Jesus expel his own demons, then he was working against himself, which would only result in his utter ruin. Indeed, Jesus reminds them, a country divided against itself (as in a civil war) or a family fighting within itself (as in a family feud), will only prove to be their undoing. No, the only way a strong man—in this case, the devil—can be subdued is, not by cooperation or compromise or partnership, but by a superior force, that is, by the Holy Spirit of God. And, here Jesus issues a grave warning. It is okay, permissible, to err in many things, to sin in many ways—these can be forgiven--but to mistake or misrepresent or miscredit the work of the Holy Spirit is beyond the pale. It simply cannot be forgiven.

Here, however, before we proceed, something must be said. I have, from time to time, come across people who were worried that they might have ‘sinned against the Holy Spirit.’ To them, I would categorically say that, merely because they are concerned about it, that they have not. To me, sinning against the Holy Spirit is so walling up oneself from His actions in one’s life that He simply cannot get through any longer. And so, simply by their concern about this demonstrates that the Spirit is still at work in their lives, and that, I must add, is the crucial thing.

Even so, it still should be a concern for all of us, for I suspect that this action of steeling oneself from the work and action of the Holy Spirit is something that is incremental and takes time. It doesn’t happen all at once. In fact, I suspect that this is what happened with Judas Iscariot. He started off fully ‘on board’ with Jesus, fully onboard with His plans and His teachings, but then gradually drifting away. So, this is a most take-away, an most important discovery that we can gain from this passage.

There is one other thing, one other ‘accidental or incidental discovery’, that we should take away from this passage. Due to the misunderstanding of His family with regards to what He was about, and their attempt at ‘damage control’, He redefines what it means to truly belong to Him, to be part of His ‘forever family’. It is not established by kinship, but by a relationship of obedience with Himself. To return to our previous discovery, it is a matter of remaining open to the Holy Spirit and allowing Him to continue His work in us.

So, to remain close to Jesus as our brother and friend, committed to Him, obeying Him and doing His will, and ever submitting to the direction and empowering of the Holy Spirit, is what it is all about for all of us. Amen.

Forward notes: “And looking at those who sat around him, Jesus said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother” (verses 34-35).

“As a child, I found solace in praying to God the Father. I learned to speak to God just as closely as I would a dear friend. Every Sunday, we joined our voices to profess our faith in the Father who eternally begat the Son.

As a young adult, I was invited to think about what it might mean to speak of God as Mother. Our scriptures are full of metaphors of God as a comforting, protective mother. The most helpful for me is Jesus describing himself as a mother hen who gathers us under her wings.

“Medieval mystics ran with this understanding of Jesus as Mother. Out of Jesus’s side wound, the salvation of the world is birthed and all things are made new. The mythology of the mother pelican who feeds her young with her own blood took on new meaning in the early church; Jesus feeds us with his body and blood in the sacrament of Holy Eucharist. Today’s reading invites us into yet another relationship with God: brother, sister, sibling.”

Moving Forward: “Alternate your prayers with different names for God: Father, Mother, Sister, Brother, Sibling.”