9 June 2024 Pentecost 3
1 Samuel 8:4:11, 16-20, 11:14-15; Psalm 138; 2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1; Mark 3:20-35
Our Gospel this morning is one which evokes much comment and debate. Was Jesus mad. Why did his family come to ‘rescue him from himself’. What did the Scribes mean when they attributed Jesus’ workings to ‘Beelzebul’; and is there really an ‘unforgivable sin’, and if so what is it.
We are only in the third chapter of Marks ‘story of Jesus’ and already he has announced the coming of the kingdom of God, called some disciples, cast out a few demons and healed a bunch of sick people. And yes, one of those disciples was a tax collector, and many of his healings did occur on the Sabbath and he also showed no reserve in getting close to a leper, So is this what has upset everyone, is it simply that he is not acting according to our ‘societal norms’; does living in a countercultural way mean you are automatically ‘mad’ or ‘possessed by the evil one’. And if it is maybe the question you and I should be asking is ‘why are we not considered mad also’. What are we not doing that means no one sees our actions as being ‘countercultural’.
Jesus declines to answer the Scribes assertion against him, he just redirects the discussion by telling them a parable. And given that parables are stories that leave you searching for the real meaning behind their ‘superficial’ storyline, was Jesus trying to call them out of their limited understanding of God’s kingdom or just placate them with a ‘nice story’. In the parable Jesus asserts that Satan’s kingdom is as susceptible to internal instability as the world’s kingdoms and houses. And if the Scribes deny Jesus’ assertion, they will find themselves at odds with their own accusations, but if they accept his assertion, they will then be agreeing with him, and contradicting their own indictment. So Jesus cleverly puts them in a ‘catch 22’ situation where they can have no response.
And then we need to deal with Jesus’ family coming to ‘save him from himself’ because, we are told, they believe the rumours that ‘he is mad’. But it is possible to see more in their actions than just ‘familial protection’ for a loved one. Jesus has been away from home for many months, he has been doing many amazing things and he has also been ‘disturbing the peace’ in many places and maybe the family is just concerned about their reputation in the town, they don’t want Jesus to stir up trouble here because ‘we have to live here’, so they come to take him home where he cannot get up to any more trouble. But when the crowd gathered around him tell Jesus his family is there, he appears to dismiss them as ‘family’. But I don’t think it is as simple as that. Jesus is not telling the crowd ‘they are not my family’, but more specifically ‘you are all my family’. Even though Mark just lists his mother and brothers as coming to rescue him, Jesus broadens it to include ‘brother and sister’, which all the women in Jesus’ circle, as well as Mark’s, will have heard loud and clear. Jesus was not dismissing his family; he was opening the doors to include everyone into the family of God.
And finally we get to that awkward question about ‘unforgivable sin’. And I say awkward because, for me, when I repent, admit my wrong and ask for forgiveness, the God I know and love is always willing and ready to forgive. So what does Jesus mean by an ‘unforgivable sin’. And we can find the answer to that in his statement about the scribes’ accusation of him having an ‘unclean spirit’. Jesus tells the crowd that people will be forgiven for their sins and all their blasphemies, but anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit cannot be forgiven. Why? Because they do not recognise the Holy Spirit as being God and are therefore not able to, or willing, to repent. So, in essence, the only person who commits an ‘unforgivable sin’ is the one that does not recognise or come into relationship with the one who offers forgiveness.
And, as I have already said, all this leads me to ask why are we not seen as ‘mad’. Are we simply ‘following the rules’ of society and staying ‘under the radar’ or are we willing to stand up and be seen as ‘different’, as ‘stirring the pot’, as ‘pushing the boundaries’ of what is socially and religiously acceptable so that we can reach more people with what is the surprising, maybe even upsetting, but definitely unimaginably gracious and ridiculously inclusive love of Jesus. Are we ‘mad’, hopefully. But it will take courage to continue to ‘stir the pot’ and risk that label of madness.