The Gospel According to Mark
– 2018.06.10
The Unity of the Church
The
gospel reading for today purports to answer a questions concerning the
authority of Jesus to cast out demons and devils.
Set
aside for a moment that we do not live in a world populated by demons and
devils. We live in God’s creation, a world that is wholly ordered to God, by
God and for God.
There
is no power other than God.
Jesus
had been “casting out demons,” healing the sick, and his opponents want to
downplay his authority by suggesting he is in league with the devil.
The
gospel writers provide an argument which does little to challenge the claims of
Jesus’ opponents. The argument they put in Jesus’ mouth is not conclusive, and
is wide open to counterargument, and this is because they Gospel writers are
not really directing this argument to Jesus’ opponents. The argument is
directed toward their own opponents in the period of the early church.
It
is less of an argument and more of a call to unity on the grounds of authority,
not reason or rationality.
In
the end the argument undermines the authority of the Gospel, watering down the
good news as we have received it. It outlines an upper limits to God’s love and
mercy, threatening anyone who would challenge the authority church, with
eternal damnation.
The
gospel says that God’s will is to forgive all sins, all blasphemies, except
one, a blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which the leaders of the church
claims resides with them.
The
Gospel writers call for the unity of the church, over and against the unity of
the family, and this is the final tell that the gospel writers had strayed from
the ministry of Jesus.
A
Kingdom Divided Against Itself Cannot Stand
Jesus
went home with his disciples, and such a crowd collected that they could not
even have a meal. When his relatives heard of this, they set out to take charge
of him, convinced he was out of his mind.
The
scribes who had come down from Jerusalem were saying, ‘Beelzebul is in him’
and, ‘It is through the prince of devils that he casts devils out.’ So he
called them to him and spoke to them in parables, ‘How can Satan cast out
Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot last. And if
a household is divided against itself, that household can never stand. Now if
Satan has rebelled against himself and is divided, he cannot stand either – it
is the end of him. But no one can make his way into a strong man’s house and
burgle his property unless he has tied up the strong man first. Only then can
he burgle his house.
‘I
tell you solemnly, all men’s sins will be forgiven, and all their blasphemies;
but let anyone blaspheme against the Holy Spirit and he will never have
forgiveness: he is guilty of an eternal sin.’ This was because they were
saying, ‘An unclean spirit is in him.’
His
mother and brothers now arrived and, standing outside, sent in a message asking
for him. A crowd was sitting round him at the time the message was passed to him,
‘Your mother and brothers and sisters are outside asking for you.’ He replied,
‘Who are my mother and my brothers?’ And looking round at those sitting in a
circle about him, he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers. Anyone who does
the will of God, that person is my brother and sister and mother.’
10th Sunday in
Ordinary Time
