RBWords

    The Gospel According to Mark pulls no punches.  Jesus is rejected not only by the Jewish authorities, but also by his own family!!  These are not distant relatives.  A little further on in the text, we discover that it is "his mother and his brothers!" (vv. 31-32].  They arrive to "seize him, for they said, "He is out of his mind."  In our own time, we might call this a "family intervention."  Most likely the cause is the notoriety that Jesus was gaining, especially the negative attention of Jewish authorities!  The "family honor" was at stake  Jesus' response to their effort (vv. 31-35) is to say, "'Who are my mother and brothers?' And looking around at those seated in the circle he said, 'Here are my mother and my brothers.  Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.'"

     In our individualistic culture, especially with the phenomenon of "blended families," it may be difficult to understand the power of kinship in Middle Eastern terms.  Family, clan and tribe are still extremely important in those cultures, along with the social "honor" that guides all social interactions.  We might experience it, as I did as a kid, in my parents' admonition (in a small town), "Remember who you are!!!"  So, the rejection of Jesus' ministry by his own family is the ultimate and cruellest cut of all as he starts on his journey to Jerusalem.

     Our common expression for someone in the family who has cut ties or earned rejection is "the black sheep of the family."  The story in today's gospel is a reminder that while an "intervention" or tough love may be necessary from time to time, rejection and disownership should be very rare.  Jesus is summoning his own family to a higher awareness of "the will of God" and a new family called "the Kingdom of God." {cf. Mark 1:15]  AMEN