Word to the Wise
Saturday, January 24, 2026 - 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]
JANUARY 24 ST. FRANCIS DE SALES, bishop and doctor of the church
This remarkable passage, which appears only in the Gospel According to Mark, appears on the 2nd Saturday of Ordinary Time and could easily escape notice! Jesus' family thought he was insane! He was attracting large crowds and antagonizing the religious authorities (let alone the Roman ones). Furthermore, his notoriety could create problems for his family back in Nazareth. They decided to do what we would call in modern times an "intervention!" We are told a bit further on at verse 31 that the family members who went to take him home even included his mother, Mary!!!! But when they got there, as we will discover next Tuesday, Jesus rejects their efforts by calling all his disciples his true family!
The intent of this report is basically to underscore the rejection of Jesus' ministry even by those closest to him. Family, clan and tribe are fundamental units of identity in the Middle East. Jesus declared himself above such ties. The report is not a basis for rejecting family (or vice versa) for religious reasons! In campus ministry, I have had to deal with anxious parents whose son or daughter had come under the influence of a group/individual that demanded his or her entire loyalty and discouraged communication with family. Some parents even hired "professional de-programmers" to remove the student and overcome the unwelcome influence.
As disciples, we are all members of God's household and God's adopted children [Eph. 2:19-22]. We can sometimes act like rebellious children but God does not reject us. The idea is always to invite the straying to faith and not exclude. But forced faith is not faith at all. AMEN
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