I like this passage as I do most that reveal the human side of Jesus. Here his ministry clearly is starting to heat up: crowds are thronging and follow him home, his family and many others think he’s crazy, and the Pharisees proclaim he is possessed by the devil. Sounding maybe even a bit peeved, Jesus dismisses the latter with a clever rhetorical flourish by pointing out that he cannot both be Satan and cast Satan out at the same time, and cautions against blaspheming the Holy Spirit. But even if Jesus’ patience is wearing thin (his family “restrains him”), he seems to relish sitting with his followers, and reminds us that all of us who do the will of God are his brothers and sisters (and even mother), and therefore each others’ brothers and sisters. This helps me understand, to some degree, the very strong sense of family I feel here at Ascension, which makes the platitude “family of God” immediate, real, and emotionally powerful. I feel blessed to count this congregation as my brothers and sisters.
Genesis 42:1-17
Psalm 62
1 Cor 5:1-8
Mark 3:19b-35
