Who Are My Brothers?

Gospel: Mark 3: 31-35

Today's Gospel invites us to put ourselves directly into the scene.  Imagine sitting among the circle around Jesus.  Someone announces: your mother and brothers and sisters are here!  Jesus pauses.  He gazes at each person in the circle.  Then he states:  My mother, my brothers, and my sisters are those who do the will of God in their lives.   Imagine Jesus gazing directly at you, saying those words to you personally, for it is an invitation.

Jesus invites each one of us to be his brother and sister - to share intimately in his life.  He invites each one of us to be his mother - to bear him within us and to bring him forth into the world through deeds of loving kindness and mercy.  This is what it means to do the will of God on earth, for Jesus himself came to be the incarnation of God's mercy in the world.  And now Jesus invites us to be incarnations of God's mercy in the world in our lives as well.

In the concrete, this means giving food and drink to the hungry and thirsty; providing shelter for the homeless; visiting and caring for those who are sick and in prison; clothing those who are naked; and giving welcome and hospitality to immigrants, refugees, and migrants.  This is the will of God for us.  This is how we become the incarnation of God's mercy in the world.  We are chaplains to the poor and marginalized, not to the empire.

The Great Sin

Gospel: Mark 3: 22-30

The sin that cannot be forgiven is to attribute acts of good to the power of the evil one, which is to denigrate good itself.  Jesus' opponents will argue that he comes from the devil, that he casts out demons by the power of the devil himself.  It is this encounter that prompts Jesus to speak of the sin against the Holy Spirit, the unforgiveable sin.  His opponents see a person liberated from their demons, and somehow argue Jesus is evil.

The logic is irrational, but evil itself is irrational too.  Consider the evil of our times.  The killing of innocent people by law enforcement has been a constant reality in history.  Those who defend the innocent, who seek to uphold human dignity of immigrants, migrants, and refugees - these are regarded as evil by the world, even those who claim to be Christian and serve as pastors of people.  And when the protectors of the innocent are themselves killed, their opponents rejoice in the same way Jesus' opponents gloated over his demise.

Sadly, this unforgiveable sin is more common than we are led to believe.  The world is in the power of the evil one.  The dragon goes about searching to devour those who oppose it.  Many are led astray by false prophets and pastors who give themselves over to power and wealth.  Our recourse is in the desert, and when the time comes it is on the cross of martyrdom as well.   

Continuing the Work

Gospel: Matthew 4: 12-23

After John the Baptist was arrested, Jesus took up his work, going into Galilee to preach the same message as John: to repent and to realize the kingdom of God is now in our midst.  Jesus adds the ministry of healing to the mission, curing people of whatever disease and illness they have.  Along the way Jesus invites other people to join him in proclaiming this message and in going about healing others, liberating them from their demons, and nourishing people at table.  

There are a variety of ways we can undertake this work.  Visiting the sick in hospitals and nursing homes.  Visiting those in prison.  Providing care and assistance to immigrants, migrants, and refugees.  Feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, and providing clothing to the naked at a variety of different shelters.  Offering shelter and building homes for those who are homeless and insecure.  These are the works of mercy to which we are called to undertake in the world.  These are the instruments of healing all of us can wield.  

The work of the Christian is not chaplain and apologist to the empire.  It is not to be a culture warrior or social justice warrior.  It is not to be about media empires or institutions of power and privilege.  The work of the Christian is to follow the Lord Jesus and to engage in the work he did on earth.  We repent of our sins when we provide direct care to the needy and vulnerable, for their presence convicts us of our sin of self-interest, indifference, and privilege that creates these conditions in the first place.