Word to the Wise
Saturday, January 20, 2024 - Saturday in the 2nd Week in Ordinary Time
[2 Sam 1:1-4, 11-12, 19, 23-27 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]
This has to be the cruelest cut of all. Even Jesus' own family rejects him because he is causing such a commotion and attracting the hostile attention of the religious authorities! His actions reflect on all his family! They set out to do what we would nowadays call an "intervention!" We will have to wait until next Tuesday to discover how Jesus reacts to their behavior. Right now, the major idea, which has been in the air from the beginning of this gospel, is rejection by the Jewish "establishment." And now rejection comes from Jesus' own family.
In my campus ministry pastoral experience, I have received phone calls from anxious parents about a religious group that their son or daughter has become involved with. In some cases, membership in the group meant summer experiences when the son or daughter was not permitted to communicate with family. In a few cases, families have hired "de-programers" to go and remove the student from the particular group and put the student through a process designed to remove the influence of the group. The imprudence both of the group and the parents adds up to a bad situation for the student!!!
Jesus' family is well-intentioned, given the possible cultural and political consequences, but Jesus has come to bring something new, which will change the whole way of life of those who believe in him. He warns elsewhere in the gospels that his teaching will cause division in families. [Matt. 10:34]
The Gospel According to Mark is the oldest of the four gospels, and it is the "rawest" of the four. We will have to "fasten our seat belts" for this journey. AMEN