Mark 3:19b-35

Then [Jesus] went home; and the crowd came together again, so that they could not even eat. When his family heard it, they went out to restrain him, for people were saying, 'He has gone out of his mind.' And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, 'He has Beelzebul, and by the ruler of the demons he casts out demons.' And he called them to him, and spoke to them in parables, 'How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but his end has come. But no one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his property without first tying up the strong man; then indeed the house can be plundered. 'Truly I tell you, people will be forgiven for their sins and whatever blasphemies they utter; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin'— for they had said, 'He has an unclean spirit.' Then his mother and his brothers came; and standing outside, they sent to him and called him. A crowd was sitting around him; and they said to him, 'Your mother and your brothers and sisters are outside, asking for you.' And he replied, 'Who are my mother and my brothers?' And looking at those who sat around him, he said, 'Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.'

The phrase that stands out to me today is, "if a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand." To me, our pericope today describes the division that is felt throughout society up to and including the church. It is heart-wrenching to see the divisions and hatred expressed in society, government, and churches. Divisions that are primarily based on fear or ignorance.

The scribes ridicule Jesus because they feel threatened and don't understand him, so they accuse him of having a demon. Jesus straightens out their thinking and asks them, "how can Satan cast out Satan?" explaining that a divided kingdom is a weak kingdom that will fall. 

The family of Jesus is worried. So much that they go out to try to stop him. It is interesting to me that Jesus summarizes this teaching with an alternative view of what it means to be family. Family is the closest of relationships that share blood and kin. Some people hold the family bond as an unconditional bond that cannot be divided or broken. After being told that his mother, brothers, and sisters are there, Jesus says that the ones seated there learning from him are his mother, brothers, and sisters. I don't think he's saying that he has replaced his mother, brothers, and sisters.

Jesus advocates for a close relationship with his followers who do the "will of God." A relationship that is as close as family. A strong relationship that cannot be simply broken by the evils of this world. I hear the call to strong relationships nurtured by the love and forgiveness we experience from Jesus as we strive to bring about his kingdom on earth.

Hebrews 3:1-11 (NRSV)

Tuesday in the First Week of Lent - Reflections on the Letters during Lent

"Therefore, brothers and sisters, holy partners in a heavenly calling, consider that Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession, was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses also "was faithful in all God's house." Yet Jesus is worthy of more glory than Moses, just as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself. (For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.) Now Moses was faithful in all God's house as a servant, to testify to the things that would be spoken later. Christ, however, was faithful over God's house as a son, and we are his house if we hold firm the confidence and the pride that belong to hope. Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, as on the day of testing in the wilderness, where your ancestors put me to the test, though they had seen my works for forty years. Therefore I was angry with that generation, and I said, 'They always go astray in their hearts, and they have not known my ways.' As in my anger I swore, 'They will not enter my rest.'"

"Builder of a house." As a former builder, hearing this phrase in scripture immediately got my attention. I have always liked being creative, and I felt an extreme sense of accomplishment after the completion of each project. When you are a craftsman, artist, or wood/metal worker, or machinist,  and you pour your whole self into what you are doing, there is a great sense of satisfaction. Ask anyone who has ever built anything, written anything, or created anything.

The writer to the Hebrews calls the recipients "holy partners" and "brothers and sisters." The writer goes on to point out that we should be confident that we are part of God's house in Christ Jesus. The letter also warns of hardening hearts as a response to hearing the voice of God and contrasts this to the Hebrew people who wondered in the wilderness for 40 years after they left Egypt.

We harden our hearts very much like a disobedient child does when they hear the voice a loving parent, knowing that what they have done (or not done) would disappoint the parent. We are fearful of the parent that may be angry and what corrective action the parent may take. If we are members of God's household, then we have responsibilities to the head of the house (God). It's not wrathful anger, but I see it more as loving anger and frustration.

We should remember that Jesus referred to the creator of the universe (creator of ALL things) as "Daddy." This was a loving term of endearment meant to invite us into the understanding that we should relate to God as more of a loving parent that loves us unconditionally. God desires a relationship with us and God wants us to have a relationship with each other. We are brothers and sisters with Christ, invited into the household of God, called into a relationship as God's children, so that we may know God a little closer.

Mark 3:19b-35 (NRSV)

Then [Jesus] went home; and the crowd came together again, so that they could not even eat.  When his family heard it, they went out to restrain him, for people were saying, 'He has gone out of his mind.'  And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, 'He has Beelzebul, and by the ruler of the demons he casts out demons.'  And he called them to him, and spoke to them in parables, 'How can Satan cast out Satan?  If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.  And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.  And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but his end has come.  But no one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his property without first tying up the strong man; then indeed the house can be plundered.

'Truly I tell you, people will be forgiven for their sins and whatever blasphemies they utter; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin' for they had said, 'He has an unclean spirit.'

Then his mother and his brothers came; and standing outside, they sent to him and called him.  A crowd was sitting around him; and they said to him, 'Your mother and your brothers and sisters are outside, asking for you.'  And he replied, 'Who are my mother and my brothers?'  And looking at those who sat around him, he said, 'Here are my mother and my brothers!  Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.'

This passage takes the story in an unusual direction after the appointment of the twelve.  The phrase that stands out to me today is, “a house divided against itself will not be able to stand.”   Jesus is faced with accusers saying that he has a demon.  He said to them, “How can Satan cast out Satan?”

In this passage, Jesus goes home and confronts accusers there who say that he has a demon.  Some think he is out of his mind and possessed.  Jesus teaches them in a parable, saying that the kingdom cannot stand if divided against itself.  He also relates it to plunder a strong man’s house…  that one must first tie him up.  Jesus goes from talking about a kingdom divided to the forgiveness of sins and blasphemies, saying that blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never have forgiveness.  He said this because they said he had an unclean spirit.

Then, he abruptly goes from there to define who his mother, brothers, and sisters are.  Jesus says that the ones with him are his mother and brothers and sisters, and whoever does the will of God is his brother and sister and mother.  This is also the first time in Mark's Gospel that indicates Jesus has kin (mother and brothers and sisters).

The call today for me is unity.  It came to me from his explanation of a house divided.  If we, as disciples and children of God, are in union with each other, then anything is possible.  Unity is strength and power; Unity is wisdom and influence.  Without unity and a shared mission, we are divided, and we will fall.