Gospel: Mark 3: 22-30
The charge leveled by the scribes against Jesus makes no sense at all: how could Jesus be possessed by a demon and perform good deeds? The scribes know full well what they say is absurd; they don't believe it themselves, but they want others to believe it. Jesus poses a threat to the status and power of the scribes and other religious leaders. If he can be torn down and disbelieved, then their power is secure and that is all that matters.
How often do we engage in such behavior? Someone threatens our security or power - real or perceived - and we engage in underhanded tactics against them, even though they be good people. Rather than finding ways to work with other people to do good, we tear them down because they are not of our group. So they are heretics, or schismatics, or some other derogatory term we invent to put down other people. So, instead of encouraging the good in others we tear it down and lead others to evil.
Jesus was offered such power by Satan in the desert, and he rejected the offer. Jesus lived a life of total submission to God, living simply and serving others. We who claim to be followers of the Lord Jesus can do no less, yet we find ourselves and our institutions acting otherwise. Today we recommit to follow the Lord's way and not our own, to do good and encourage the good we find in others.
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