Mark 3:20-35; 1 Samuel 8:4-20; 2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1
We read this morning the third chapter in the Gospel of Mark, we can say that is just the beginning and we already find teachers of the law arguing with Jesus. This morning Mark presents us an interesting story of Jesus. Actually, they are two stories in one, is like a sandwich. Beginning in verse 20, we find the first slice of bread which is Jesus’ family coming to look for Him, “they went to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.” He is out of His mind, this is not a nice thing to say about a son, a brother, a sister, or any member of the family.Then we find what is in between the sandwich. Mark tells us about the teachers of the law, who also said something about Jesus, “He is possessed by Beelzebub! By the prince of demons, he is driving out demons.” This is not a nice thing to say either. After this, Mark goes back to Jesus’ family, the other slice of bread.
I think is impossible to avoid the question, what has Jesus done to deserve this kind of comments? All he has done so far is good. He has announced the coming kingdom of God, He has called some disciples, He has casted out some demons and healed a bunch of sick people. Now, what I just told you He has done sounds good, however, when we see deeper, we will realize that Jesus did a couple things that made the religious leaders upset, for instance one of those disciples he called was a tax collector, and at the sight of the religious people was not right, tax collectors even when they were Jews, because of their job, they were considered traitors. Jesus also casted out demon and did much of his healing work on the Sabbath. Therefore, according to the interpretation of the law, for them, Jesus broke Moses law, He broke “the holiness of Sabbath” by doing this kind of work. All these mean that for them, Jesus was a counter-cultural person.
His vision of the coming kingdom of God, the Kingdom He is preaching is rooted in a profound inclusivity that would let neither religious laws, nor social custom prevent him from reaching those in need with the abundant life he came to offer. Jesus is a threat to what is already established and that makes him dangerous, crazy, or possessed before the leaders and his own family.
Is Jesus crazy as his family says? or possessed as the teachers of the law say? With the arguments Jesus presented, He proved He is neither crazy nor possessed. What he did was “crazy,” yes, was crazy compared with what others would do. Let me explain, the “crazy things” he did, “Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. 32 A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, “Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you.” 33 “Who are my mother and my brothers?” he asked. Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.” You see, any other teacher of the law would not dare to call brother to a tax collector as Jesus did with Matthew or call brother to a fisherman from Galilee like Peter and others, or sister to a strange woman, especially with a bad reputation as some of those who followed Jesus. I believed these remarks form Jesus about his family came within the context of what he said before, “If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.”
As it is today, society in Jesus’ times was divided. Religious leaders were divided between Pharisees, Sadducees, Herodians and Zealot and some others. Society was divided between men and women, pure and impure, Jews and Gentiles, slaves and free, just to mention a few. However, here we have Jesus breaking all those barriers and calling whoever does God’s will regardless of their background, brothers, sisters, and mother. This new family Jesus is talking about is not based on blood, but in obedience to God’s will. 35 Whoever does God’s will, is my brother and sister and mother.”
Jesus’ followers understood His message of unity and some years later Paul shared the same statement with the churches in Galatia. Listen what he said in chapter 3:26-29 “So, in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, 27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” Paul continued with the “crazy” message of Jesus. A message of unity and equality that nowadays still sounds crazy. However, if we want to stand as church, if we want to stand as community, if we want to stand as country, we must follow and continue with the “crazy” message of unity preached by Jesus, by Paul and many others committed to do God’s will.
A few years ago, in his message for the licensing, commission, and ordination our Bishop, Bishop Carter shared part of Saint Francis of Assisi’ call. History says that while looking at a crucifix. Saint Francis heard Jesus’ voice saying, “go and rebuild my church.” In the twelfth century, church did look like church.
Today the gospel is inviting us to rebuild the concept of family. Who is our family? According to Jesus, those who do God’s will are our brothers, sisters, and mothers. John in his first letter chapter 3 verse 16 tells us something crazy, “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.” John is inviting us to do as Jesus did, the ultimate sacrifice for our family.
Church is family, church is made for those who do God’s will regardless of who they are, where they come from, color of skin, legal status, or our place in society. That kind of unity with the help of the Holy Spirit, has helped the church to come this far, and that kind of unity will help us continue going.
There is no better place to express and to experience the unity of Christ, that at church, and specially at the Lord’s Table, where our nationalities, our patriotism, our social condition, our background are diminished by the mighty presence of our Lord, by our faith in Christ Jesus and our desire to do God’s will. In church and around the table, we are just a big family made by men and women saved by the power and love of God. What make us one is not who we are, but what God has made of us and in us; what make us one is not the names or title society gives us, but the name and titles God gives us, “yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” If you have received Jesus in your heart, you are my brother and my sister regardless of where you come from or what you do. Let get ready to come to the table and allow the one who makes us one, fill our heart and life and together we will stand and continue as God’s family.