Mark 3:20-35
Most scripture scholars believe that the Gospel of Mark was the first one written, and that Matthew and Luke both used the Gospel as a framework for their own. In fact, about 90 percent of Mark is in Matthew’s gospel. And that brings up a question. If Mathhew and Luke were using Mark’s gospel, why did they leave out the party about Jesus' relatives coming to seize him because they thought he was out of his mind? Both Matthew and Luke quote the Pharisees who attribute Jesus’ miracles to Beelzebul, and Jesus’ response to this accusation. But they say nothing about the family of Jesus.
I think this tells us something. By the time Matthew and Luke wrote their gospels, the church was pretty well established, and the consensus was that Jesus was driven, the Spon of God. By the time John writes, even later, there is on question in his gospel. But Mark was written at an earlier time, when the human-ness of Jesus had not been swallowed up into the divine. So maybe it’s a more accurate portrayal.
In any event, it’s clear that two opinions are being expressed here about Jesus’ ministry. One is that of the Pharisees, who attribute his miracles to the devil. The other is about his relatives, who attribute his behavior to madness. And what was the behavior? First, his relatives probably had watched him grow up. There wasn’t much to see -- he was a nice normal Jewish carpenter who looked after his mother and did good work. And then, suddenly, and it was sudden if you read any of the gospels, he made an abrupt break with his normal life and began wandering around preaching, depending on the charity of others for his food and drink. He associated with tax collectors and even had one follower who was one. He had another follower who was a member of a radical political party - Simon the Zealot. The rest of his followers were not much to look at - fishermen, another carpenter named Thomas -- there wasn’t a Pharisee in the lot. And yet he was telling people what God thought, or at least what he thought God thought. It’s not surprising that his relatives, those who knew him best, thought he was insane, and were committed to bring him home and lock him in the basement until he came to his senses. He wouldn’t be the first or the last.
I elaborate on this point because when Jesus talks about the unforgivable sin, I think Mark wants us to notice not only the Pharisees, who attribute his miracles to the devil, but also Jesus’ own relatives, who in a sense are disowning him. Both groups are missing the point. Because Jesus is clearly working out the prophecies. IT was only a little while ago when Jesus stood in the synagogue and said, “today this prophecy is fulfilled in your hearing”. The blind were seeing, the deaf were hearing, the lame were walking and the gospel was being preached to the poor. What more could Jesus do? But there were those and will always be those who refuse to see what’s right in front of their noses.
Jesus’ message then and now is radical. Not everyone is willing to accept it or even believe there is a message. And the reasons for not accepting the message boil down to two, for Mark. One is what his relatives give -- look at the one giving the massage -- we know all about him. He’s gone crazy so don’t listen to him. The other is given by the Pharisees -- he can’t be trusted because he is not one of the in crowd who study the scriptures and know how to be religious. And since he works miracles, it’s got to be due to demons.
Human beings haven’t changed much,. We still have a hard time accepting and following Jesus. Sometimes it’s because we think we know the messenger, like Jesus’ family, and don’t really accept him or her as a bearer of the message. You see that today among some conservative Catholic circles, who have decided Pope Francis is not to be trusted, because he’s made some off the cuff comments that are ambiguous. How many of us have actually read his writings, which are the product of his serious thinking?
And we are like the Pharisees as well. There are some people who are unwilling to listen to anyone who doesn’t have what they consider credentials. I like to listen to WJMJ when I’m driving. That’’s the official radio station of the Hartford Archdiocese. It’s run by a priest and staffed by Catholic radio personalities, as they call themselves. I asked a friend of mine if he ever listened to it. He had and stopped, because every now and then there is a short reflection given by a minister of a protestant denomination.
The Lord has not stopped preaching and working miracles. Let us pray today that we will hear his authentic voice and recognize the miracles in our own lives, especially the miracle of being a member of his family.
