From the Daily Lectionary for Tuesday in the Second Week after the Epiphany
Mark 3:19b-35
Then he 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.”
Mark spends a lot of time and energy depicting opposition to Jesus’ ministry. For Mark this is a battle of cosmic proportions, namely, a battle between good and evil, truth and falsehood. In particular, it is a battle between those who follow Jesus and his call to inclusivity, shared wealth, justice, healing and mutual regard, up and against the elite powerful who serve only their self-interests at the expense of the left out, which in Jesus’ world is the vast majority.
The elite use the tried and true defense against Jesus, that which our soon-to-be-former president uses, which is to blame the truth teller. Some things never change. Jesus is casting out demons, healing the sick, resisting evil, and the scribes and Pharisees disingenuously deflect and point to Jesus as the one possessed by evil spirits.
Jesus gives them a stern warning, the most stern in all of New Testament literature: that to denounce the workings of the Holy Spirit, that is to say, the Spirit of truth, is to seal one’s damnation. Lest we don’t get the force of his point, he goes on to say that the truth is even more essential than his relationship with his family. His true mother, brothers, and sisters are the ones who stand for the truth.
We live in a time when there is a clear difference between truth and falsehood. We see in the public life of our nation those who willfully forsake the truth in deference to their self-interests. Truth matters. It may be that Jesus is saying it matters more than anything else. Jesus told us to love our enemies, but that doesn’t mean that we respect and forbear their delusions. The “just can’t we get along?” mantra doesn’t serve any longer. At our baptisms we were initiated into a community that serves the guiding light of truth even at the cost of unhappy division.
There is much in our nation in need of healing, but not at the expense of the truth. My hope for this parish is that we may creatively serve the truth with integrity, respecting the dignity of every human being, even those who have willfully hidden themselves from the good and the true. Now, however, is not the time for compromise, because there is no compromising the truth. We speak and act in love, and love exults in the truth. These days that is easier said than done, but as people maturing in the faith, I believe it is possible. All Saints is an important witness for justice in our community, so how we speak and how we act matters. Pray for the grace to meaningfully share the truth of God in Christ with those to whom we are sent. I know, with God’s help, I’m willing to try.
A Prayer for Peace (BCP p. 815 adapted)
Eternal God, in whose perfect kingdom no sword is drawn but the sword of justice, no strength known but the strength of love: So mightily spread abroad your Spirit, that all peoples, especially in this nation, may be gathered under the banner of the Prince of Peace, as people of one God, to who be dominion and glory, now and for ever. Amen.
