Word to the Wise
Saturday, January 21, 2017 - Saturday in the 2nd Week in Ordinary Time
[Heb 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." [Mark]
JANUARY 21 ST. AGNES, virgin and martyr
There is nothing like a little family dynamics to spice up a story! This scene is divided into two parts, separated by comments about the source of Jesus' power: from heaven or from the devil? Today we hear about the family decision to do an "intervention" and get Jesus out of circulation! He's creating an embarrassment. Everybody's talking about him and the family is having to defend its honor! We will learn on Tuesday next week that this includes his mother, too! Strangely enough, this makes Mary seem a lot more human and accessible to me.
The two parts of this story-within-the-story seem to have different points. Right now the point seems to be that Jesus is accepted by ordinary people but rejected by religious authorities and even his own family! Perhaps some of us have been at the receiving end of an "intervention" of some sort. The words that describe it will sound like this: "We're only doing this for your own good and because we love you!" [On the level of religious life, I've had to make a statement like that as a religious superior!] Jesus is the potential subject of "tough love!" The Gospel of Mark, as I have noted, tells it like it is! Fear not, the family plot is foiled but we have learned that even the Son of God suffered from misunderstanding from all sides. So, he knows how we feel when it happens to us! AMEN
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