Word to the Wise
Sunday, January 23, 2011 - Saturday in the Second Week in Ordinary Time
[Hebrews 9:2-3, 11-14 and Mark 3:20-21]Jesus came with his disciples into the house. Again the crowd gathered, making it impossible for them even to eat. When his relatives heard of this they set out to seize him, for they said, "He is out of his mind."
The Gospel of Mark makes it abundantly clear that Jesus experiences rejection from not just the scribes and Pharisees but from his own family! They think he is "out of his mind" with his ministry and all the crowds that are coming. Needless to say, all this commotion would reflect on the family as well! When the family arrive at the house to "seize him" he tells the crowd that his real family are those who do the will of God. [Mk 3:33-35]. This incident sparks memories in me of tensions that can arise in a family over religious matters. A sampler would include Christian/Jewish weddings (or interfaith marriages of any kind), students who become involved in religious groups that seem to divide them from their parents, children who give up the faith they were brought up in or just stop practicing any faith at all.....the list could go on. It is not an abstract list - I could give a story to each of those categories from personal and pastoral experience.
It can be a big challenge to find a faith that unites instead of divides. We humans just struggle to understand God's will so that we can be part of the family of Jesus. Sometimes our efforts fail miserably and we behave more like enemies. But the gospel teaches us about mercy and forgiveness and fidelity. Those virtues are the path to discerning God's will and the love that Jesus' family should exemplify. AMEN
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