June 9, 2024
Proper 5 or 10OTB - Mark 3:20-35
If you remember
Back in December we began year B of the liturgical calendar
But with Advent, Christmas, Lent and Easter
we haven’t really had a good stretch of Sundays reading Mark
But today begins a 9 week stretch
And since we have been popping in and out of John’s Gospel
And heard from Matthew off and on
It seems appropriate to
Reacquaint ourselves with this Gospel’s personality;)
It is stark and hard and heavy on questions and light on answers
It’s no-nonsense
A quick aside about the “unforgiveable sin”
Or “sin against the Holy Spirit”
Jesus is speaking to the Scribes
They see healing and people liberated from demonic possession
They see What can only be good
And they call it the work of one possessed by the power of Evil.
The very possibility of receiving healing mercy is cut off if you call it evil.
Did you notice how there are two stories going on in our reading?
This whole section is called a Marcan Sandwhich
It started with the family…the bottom piece of bread
…they have set out to “restrain/seize” him
Then the inside of the sandwich is the controversy with the Scribes and the parable
And then the top bread is the return to the question of family.
We are in Chapter 3
Jesus has been healing and casting out demons
To great success
He has called his disciples
And he has upset the powers that be with his
Boundary crossing
Rule breaking
behavior
the atmosphere is tense
Has something ever happened in your life
When you just knew
“this is a BIG deal”
“this is a game changer…and not in a good way”
“my life…as I know it…is over”
Its probably not this simple
But, for me, it came about because I was holding on too tight to
---something I knew I just knew was spot on:
· My plan for my life
· My dream for my daughters life
· My certainties about economic policy
· Or how healthcare should be organized
· Or how the border ought to be policed
Someone said that the sign of growing wisdom
is having fewer and fewer answers
Not out of disinterest or laziness
But out of coming to know that things look differently
From different perspectives
And I only have my own
It sounds a little simplistic
But some of this seems to be at work in our Gospel text
Let’s say that I am one of those Jerusalem Scribes
Now…we’re not just any scribes
We’re heavy hitters
Jerusalem…so like the Vatican;)…or Yale Divinity School
We’re that kind of Scribe
Of course…we…all of us Jerusalem heavy-hitters
We’ve heard about Jesus’ doings
His healings, and teachings, and demon-ousting
But, I mean…on the Sabbath!
AND…on behalf of THOSE people!
What he is doing is totally undermining our authority
Right when we are about to publish our
Much anticipated volume of theological wisdom
Not to mention that we received a hefty advance
That we spent on some upgrades to the Temple library.
This Jesus must be wrong
He simply must be operating under an UNGODLY Power
The power of Beelzabul
Because…Its HIM or US
And it’s NOT us!
Maybe you noticed this small detail
The Jerusalem Scribes have come
Jesus knows why
And the text says:
He called them to him…and spoke to them in parables
Parables are not straight up questions or answers
it’s a way of teaching that makes the learner work for it
They need time to soak in
I might be wrong
But I sense that Jesus is loving them…hoping that they will open themselves to seeing differently.
Mark leaves us hanging
They have received the teaching
Will those scribes walk back to Jerusalem more certain than ever…digging in their heels
OR
Will the parable create a crack in their certainty?
Now, let’s say we are part of Jesus’ family…his blood family
We’ve been hearing all the buzz too
The healings and exorcisms and compelling teaching
But we’ve also heard that some people
Powerful people…people you don’t want to mess with…
are scandalized by what he is doing
We are thinking he is so hyper-focused that he doesn’t notice
This creeping danger
He isn’t eating…he isn’t’ sleeping…
Why is he not taking precautions?
I think we need to protect him
We need to do a little damage control
We need to save him from himself
Not to mention how this is beginning to affect us!
We are’rightfully’ scared of being caught up in all this!
We are ‘rightfully’ scared of being shunned!
And what about Jesus’ blood family?
If they overheard Jesus asking those crowded inside the house
“Who is my mother and my brother?”
And then
“Behold…all of you…whoever might do the will of God
is brother, sister, mother to me”
Did they turn around…and start for home full of anger?
Were they startled, confused?
Were they beginning to re-examine their certainties?
… their motivations?
Were they thinking:
“We thought for sure we were doing the WILL of God”
…were we?
The problem as I see it
Is that the “WILL OF GOD” is notoriously tricky to define.
Bottom line for the Jesus of Marks Gospel
Moral perfection is not the goal…nor is it possible
Nobody is a hero in this Gospel
But everyone is loved
Discipleship is tough, hard, demanding
And what is Jesus’ answer
In the midst of all these questions and confusion
Follow
Just follow
Hang in there and follow
Its as easy and as hard as that
I am comforted just by bering here
Being here is a sign that we are still following
Through those doors
And onto these pews
And into this family…
This…we…are a WILL OF GOD family
Not perfect
But we absolutely belong
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