Our Gospel lesson is Mark 3:20-35, taken today from the Christian Standard Bible (CSB).
Jesus entered a house, and the crowd gathered again so that they were not even able to eat. When his family heard this, they set out to restrain him, because they said, “He’s out of his mind.” The scribes who had come down from Jerusalem said, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and, “He drives out demons by the ruler of the demons.” So he summoned them and spoke to them in parables: “How can Satan drive out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand but is finished. But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can plunder his house. “Truly I tell you, people will be forgiven for all sins and whatever blasphemies they utter. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin” — because they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.” His mother and his brothers came, and standing outside, they sent word to him and called him. A crowd was sitting around him and told him, “Look, your mother, your brothers, and your sisters are outside asking for you.” He replied to them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” Looking at those sitting in a circle around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”
There are times that our faith may seem like foolishness to the rest of the world. Even believers close to us may be overwhelmed and unsettled by what we are called to do and the situations God provides for us to accomplish His will. In this passage, even His family is concerned over what Jesus is doing.
This isn’t the first time Jesus has surprised them with His actions. When He was presented at the Temple as a boy, He stayed behind discussing with the elders and teachers until Joseph and Mary returned to look for Him. His response was “Why were you searching for me? Didn’t you know that it was necessary for me to be in my Father’s house?” (Luke 2:49).
While our witness and outreach may sometimes seem like foolishness to others, God still asks us to go and do in His name. Paul tells us that “the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength” (1 Corinthians 1:25). No matter how the world views us, we must follow the path Christ has shown us.
Wise and wonderful God, we know that Your call on our lives may be difficult, but we press on in faith. May we be the workers needed in Your world. Amen.