1 Samuel 8: 4-11
Mark 3: 20-35
Mark 3: 20-35
Every one of us has experienced rejection in some form or another. That is what makes these two passages we read today so powerful. We can really relate to what is happening to each person and we can feel their pain and confusion like it was our own. The Mark text is particularly interesting because we see both an extreme acceptance as well as rejection and how Jesus deals with both are important.
Jesus enters a home with his disciples to sit down and eat a meal after a long day. They had walked many miles and helped many people. So many people, in fact, that now a large crowd has gathered outside of this home. Close your eyes and picture this.
It’s dusk and you’re sweaty and dirty and hungry. You’ve been up since dawn and you have not had a moment of rest or alone time all day long. People have clamored to be healed and to be taught, wanting more from you even as you try to give them more. You walk into this home, hoping for a moments respite to eat and wash the dust of the day from your person. Instead, as you sit down to eat this meal you hear the people gathering outside. Their voices are loud, jarring; preventing conversation from occurring inside the house. Then you hear a knock on the door and you try to ignore it, but it just gets louder as does the talking and cries for help.
Jesus’ family hears about the commotion his actions have caused in the town and they are angry and scared. They’re angry because they are worried about what Jesus’ actions will cause to happen to not just him, but to them. They are scared that the crowds will turn on Jesus and turn on them if he does not live up to their expectations. They do not understand what is driving Jesus. They do not understand what possesses him to make such a spectacle of himself in their tiny town. Talking to each other, his family decided that Jesus must not be thinking straight and so they go to tell him what he should be doing.
Mark, in two sentences, puts Jesus in an awkward position. Here in the first sentence we see a crowd of people that adore Jesus and what he has done for them, so much that he cannot even eat a meal in peace. In the very next sentence we see Jesus and his mission rejected by his own family. We have obsession from strangers and dismissal from loved ones. Jesus is in the middle of a battle and neither side offers him rest and comfort.
Jesus walks outside, ignoring the dinner he had wanted to enjoy just moments before and greets the crowd. Inside of the crowd are a group of Pharisees who believe Jesus to be casting demons out using Satan’s name. Another rejection by the very people who should recognize him as the Messiah, but are too wrapped up in their own lives and jealousy to understand the truth.
At this point, what would you have done? We all have days like this, where it appears as if the world is coming down upon our shoulders and all we want to do is take a moment to relax and instead, more is heaped upon us. If you were Jesus, would you have walked away or would you have stayed to help?
Jesus stayed. He began to teach the people in an effort to get them to see how ridiculous their argument against him truly was. He says, “How can Satan drive out Satan?” We can almost see the Pharisees thinking frantically, “If you’re possessed by a demon, you can probably get other demons to listen to you and that’s how you heal the people.” But what Jesus is saying in modern terms is if you have an infection, and you go to the doctor to be healed; does the doctor give you another infection to drive out the first one? No. The doctor gives you an antibiotic to rid your body of the poison infecting you.
But Jesus is making another point as well. If Satan drives out his own demons from people, then he is dividing his resources and therefore he will lose. Also, if Jesus is not possessed by a demon then he has truly healed the person. Jesus has neatly trapped the Pharisees in their own web of jealousy because with what Jesus says here he clearly points out that no matter if Jesus is possessed by a demon or not, Satan cannot possibly win since he would be hurting his own cause.
At this point, Jesus’ mother and brothers arrive and when someone tells him that they are there, he says that here in this crowd are his mother and brothers and sisters. He says all who do God’s will are his family. This, now, is Jesus appearing to reject his blood family and accepting his spiritual family. On the surface it seems as if Jesus rejects those who would reject him and he accepts those who accept him.
Could Jesus really reject his own family in favor of strangers who won’t even let him eat a meal in peace? How are we as Christians supposed to understand this, should we too reject our family in support of strangers?
Jesus is making a point to everyone. The ones in the story that are doing God’s will are Jesus, the disciples, and the crowd that are so hungry for God’s word that they cannot even let Jesus rest for a moment. The ones who are opposing God’s will are the Pharisees who are telling lies out of jealousy and his own family who refuse to understand what Jesus is here to do. Jesus was not rejecting their caring and concern; he was rejecting what would happen if he gave into those cares and concerns. If he listened to his family and went with them back to their home, God’s will would not be done.
Jesus refused to meet with them not because he didn’t love them, not because he didn’t appreciate their love for him; he refused because to do so would be to go against God. What Jesus is telling all of us is that he did not come to bring peace, but a sword. He did not come to live an easy and peaceful life; he came to cause strife and discord. If the people were stirred up and anxious, that meant they were thinking and feeling and living. Jesus was not after a meek and passive group of followers. He wanted people who had a passion for God’s word and a drive to hear it no matter the time or place.
The church is a place where we can either choose to be active participants and eagerly listen and watch for God’s word, or we can be passive and restrained in the way we worship and love God. Jesus may understand why his family is so upset with him, he may understand why they do not want him to do the things he is doing, but he does not let that stop him. If he let them stop him, he would be going against God. Sometimes we must choose to do the radical and crazy thing instead of the calm and rational because it is the RIGHT thing to do. Sometimes we must choose to do God’s will over humanity’s even if they think we are ‘out of our minds’ like Jesus’ family considered him to be.
As we look at our lives and at our church, which group are we in the story? There are some that would be in the group that could not leave Jesus to eat a meal in peace, but I have a feeling more of us would have been nodding and approving of his family coming to take “Jesus in hand” because that boy was out of line. I could see many of us thinking that Jesus was causing unnecessary trouble.
Christianity has evolved over the many centuries since Jesus was teaching the disciples. Religion should evolve and change and adapt to the new circumstances otherwise it would grow stale. However, I have to wonder if we have tamed and watered down our faith to such an extent that Jesus would have rejected it as he rejected his family’s good intentions. After all, many of the things we do are done with good intentions, but Jesus seems to care more about God’s will. Shouldn’t we as well?
Amen.
Jesus enters a home with his disciples to sit down and eat a meal after a long day. They had walked many miles and helped many people. So many people, in fact, that now a large crowd has gathered outside of this home. Close your eyes and picture this.
It’s dusk and you’re sweaty and dirty and hungry. You’ve been up since dawn and you have not had a moment of rest or alone time all day long. People have clamored to be healed and to be taught, wanting more from you even as you try to give them more. You walk into this home, hoping for a moments respite to eat and wash the dust of the day from your person. Instead, as you sit down to eat this meal you hear the people gathering outside. Their voices are loud, jarring; preventing conversation from occurring inside the house. Then you hear a knock on the door and you try to ignore it, but it just gets louder as does the talking and cries for help.
Jesus’ family hears about the commotion his actions have caused in the town and they are angry and scared. They’re angry because they are worried about what Jesus’ actions will cause to happen to not just him, but to them. They are scared that the crowds will turn on Jesus and turn on them if he does not live up to their expectations. They do not understand what is driving Jesus. They do not understand what possesses him to make such a spectacle of himself in their tiny town. Talking to each other, his family decided that Jesus must not be thinking straight and so they go to tell him what he should be doing.
Mark, in two sentences, puts Jesus in an awkward position. Here in the first sentence we see a crowd of people that adore Jesus and what he has done for them, so much that he cannot even eat a meal in peace. In the very next sentence we see Jesus and his mission rejected by his own family. We have obsession from strangers and dismissal from loved ones. Jesus is in the middle of a battle and neither side offers him rest and comfort.
Jesus walks outside, ignoring the dinner he had wanted to enjoy just moments before and greets the crowd. Inside of the crowd are a group of Pharisees who believe Jesus to be casting demons out using Satan’s name. Another rejection by the very people who should recognize him as the Messiah, but are too wrapped up in their own lives and jealousy to understand the truth.
At this point, what would you have done? We all have days like this, where it appears as if the world is coming down upon our shoulders and all we want to do is take a moment to relax and instead, more is heaped upon us. If you were Jesus, would you have walked away or would you have stayed to help?
Jesus stayed. He began to teach the people in an effort to get them to see how ridiculous their argument against him truly was. He says, “How can Satan drive out Satan?” We can almost see the Pharisees thinking frantically, “If you’re possessed by a demon, you can probably get other demons to listen to you and that’s how you heal the people.” But what Jesus is saying in modern terms is if you have an infection, and you go to the doctor to be healed; does the doctor give you another infection to drive out the first one? No. The doctor gives you an antibiotic to rid your body of the poison infecting you.
But Jesus is making another point as well. If Satan drives out his own demons from people, then he is dividing his resources and therefore he will lose. Also, if Jesus is not possessed by a demon then he has truly healed the person. Jesus has neatly trapped the Pharisees in their own web of jealousy because with what Jesus says here he clearly points out that no matter if Jesus is possessed by a demon or not, Satan cannot possibly win since he would be hurting his own cause.
At this point, Jesus’ mother and brothers arrive and when someone tells him that they are there, he says that here in this crowd are his mother and brothers and sisters. He says all who do God’s will are his family. This, now, is Jesus appearing to reject his blood family and accepting his spiritual family. On the surface it seems as if Jesus rejects those who would reject him and he accepts those who accept him.
Could Jesus really reject his own family in favor of strangers who won’t even let him eat a meal in peace? How are we as Christians supposed to understand this, should we too reject our family in support of strangers?
Jesus is making a point to everyone. The ones in the story that are doing God’s will are Jesus, the disciples, and the crowd that are so hungry for God’s word that they cannot even let Jesus rest for a moment. The ones who are opposing God’s will are the Pharisees who are telling lies out of jealousy and his own family who refuse to understand what Jesus is here to do. Jesus was not rejecting their caring and concern; he was rejecting what would happen if he gave into those cares and concerns. If he listened to his family and went with them back to their home, God’s will would not be done.
Jesus refused to meet with them not because he didn’t love them, not because he didn’t appreciate their love for him; he refused because to do so would be to go against God. What Jesus is telling all of us is that he did not come to bring peace, but a sword. He did not come to live an easy and peaceful life; he came to cause strife and discord. If the people were stirred up and anxious, that meant they were thinking and feeling and living. Jesus was not after a meek and passive group of followers. He wanted people who had a passion for God’s word and a drive to hear it no matter the time or place.
The church is a place where we can either choose to be active participants and eagerly listen and watch for God’s word, or we can be passive and restrained in the way we worship and love God. Jesus may understand why his family is so upset with him, he may understand why they do not want him to do the things he is doing, but he does not let that stop him. If he let them stop him, he would be going against God. Sometimes we must choose to do the radical and crazy thing instead of the calm and rational because it is the RIGHT thing to do. Sometimes we must choose to do God’s will over humanity’s even if they think we are ‘out of our minds’ like Jesus’ family considered him to be.
As we look at our lives and at our church, which group are we in the story? There are some that would be in the group that could not leave Jesus to eat a meal in peace, but I have a feeling more of us would have been nodding and approving of his family coming to take “Jesus in hand” because that boy was out of line. I could see many of us thinking that Jesus was causing unnecessary trouble.
Christianity has evolved over the many centuries since Jesus was teaching the disciples. Religion should evolve and change and adapt to the new circumstances otherwise it would grow stale. However, I have to wonder if we have tamed and watered down our faith to such an extent that Jesus would have rejected it as he rejected his family’s good intentions. After all, many of the things we do are done with good intentions, but Jesus seems to care more about God’s will. Shouldn’t we as well?
Amen.
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