In this Sunday’s Gospel we hear that Jesus’ family come looking for him, and it would seem that they are concerned about his mental health while scribes accuse him of being possessed by the devil! It is a common technique of Mark to “sandwich” two stories or events in the telling of an event in the life of Jesus. There are often multiple things going on around Jesus in Mark’s Gospel -- Jesus is always presented as harried and hurried, moving from place to place at breakneck speed, leaving the reader almost breathless. Jesus is so bound up in preaching the Reign of God, in healing the sick, in reaching out to the poor and the marginalized, in making the sinner and the outcast know that they are the beloved of God that even his own family wonders if he has “lost his mind”! And yet he preaches with such authority that the people’s hearts are transformed and some come to believe in him as the Messiah, the long awaited One! But others refuse to see the signs and wonders, their eyes and hearts closed to the living grace of God that stood before them. And Jesus proclaims that “his family” was made up of all those who do the will of God!
In the first reading from Genesis, we have the story of the origin of sin. And as misogynistic as this story can be, almost all cultures have stories that seek to explain how sin and evil got into the world. Handed down from one generation to the next these stories were meant to help explain the human condition, to tell us something about God and our relationship to God and how we’ve ended up where we are today. The story of the apple is a story of scapegoating, blaming the other for our own poor choices or inaction. We see it all the time in our politicians, they scapegoat “the other party” and/or blame it on “the devil”. The lack of ability to take responsibility for one’s actions and decisions is truly a sign of our times.
But following Jesus’ example is the cure for our times! Opening up our eyes and our hearts to his presence in our midst, in our lives, has the ability to transform us just as it did his first disciples. Where do I see Jesus in my life? What action is my faith calling me to today? Am I worried about what others might think about me as I live out my faith and proclaim the Gospel through my words and actions?
Blessings,
Fr. Tim
In the first reading from Genesis, we have the story of the origin of sin. And as misogynistic as this story can be, almost all cultures have stories that seek to explain how sin and evil got into the world. Handed down from one generation to the next these stories were meant to help explain the human condition, to tell us something about God and our relationship to God and how we’ve ended up where we are today. The story of the apple is a story of scapegoating, blaming the other for our own poor choices or inaction. We see it all the time in our politicians, they scapegoat “the other party” and/or blame it on “the devil”. The lack of ability to take responsibility for one’s actions and decisions is truly a sign of our times.
But following Jesus’ example is the cure for our times! Opening up our eyes and our hearts to his presence in our midst, in our lives, has the ability to transform us just as it did his first disciples. Where do I see Jesus in my life? What action is my faith calling me to today? Am I worried about what others might think about me as I live out my faith and proclaim the Gospel through my words and actions?
Blessings,
Fr. Tim
RSS Feed
