Mark 3:20 – Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat. 21 When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.” 22 And the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem said, “He is possessed by Beelzebul! By the prince of demons he is driving out demons.”

23 So Jesus called them over to him and began to speak to them in parables: “How can Satan drive out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26 And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come. 27 In fact, no one can enter a strong man’s house without first tying him up. Then he can plunder the strong man’s house. 28 Truly I tell you, people can be forgiven all their sins and every slander they utter, 29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin.” 30 He said this because they were saying, “He has an impure spirit.”

31 Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. 32 A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, “Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you.” 33 “Who are my mother and my brothers?” he asked. 34 Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.” (NIV)

In today’s reading from Mark’s Gospel, we have two lessons.  First, we find Jesus accused of being possessed by a demon.  The teachers of the law called this demon Beelzebul.  Beelzebul literally translates as ‘Lord of the Flies’.  It originally was a title for a Philistine god, but was used by Jews, and later by Christians, to refer to Satan.  The people could not understand how Jesus, who by outward appearances seemed to be like everyone else, could do the wondrous deeds that he was doing.  Jesus makes it clear that demons cannot drive out demons.  His power came from God’s Holy Spirit that dwelled within.  

The second lesson is sometimes difficult to understand.  Jesus told the crowd that his family were those that did the will of God.  I do not believe that Jesus was rejecting his family of origin.  We know that even on the cross Jesus made sure his mother would be taken care of.  We also know that his brother James led the early church in Jerusalem.  What Jesus was doing was broadening his family.  As close as his family of origin may have been, he was now including those who sought to live out God’s will in that family.  

What can we take away from these two lessons?  First, we are called to live with God’s Holy Spirit within us.  When we do, people will look at us differently.  For those who do not understand spiritual things, they might even think we are a bit strange!  Secondly, those who seek to live out God’s will are our brothers and sisters.  We may live out God’s will through different callings, but we are still family.  There may be times when we disagree with members of our own family of origin, but we always love them.  Likewise, we may disagree at times with those who seek God’s will, yet like our family of origin, we must always extend love.  

Today, let’s seek to live with the notable difference of God’s Holy Spirit, and let’s seek to live in love with all people, especially those who seek God’s will.

Posted by Ramón Torres