Lectio Divina, Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time June 9, 2024

READ
Mk 3:20-35
Jesus came home with his disciples.
Again the crowd gathered,
making it impossible for them even to eat.
When his relatives heard of this they set out to seize him,
for they said, "He is out of his mind."
The scribes who had come from Jerusalem said,
"He is possessed by Beelzebul,"
and "By the prince of demons he drives out demons."

Summoning them, he began to speak to them in parables,
"How can Satan drive out Satan?
If a kingdom is divided against itself,
that kingdom cannot stand.
And if a house is divided against itself,
that house will not be able to stand.
And if Satan has risen up against himself
and is divided, he cannot stand;
that is the end of him.
But no one can enter a strong man's house to plunder his property
unless he first ties up the strong man.
Then he can plunder the house.
Amen, I say to you,
all sins and all blasphemies that people utter will be
forgiven them.
But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit
will never have forgiveness,
but is guilty of an everlasting sin."
For they had said, "He has an unclean spirit."

His mother and his brothers arrived.
Standing outside they sent word to him and called him.
A crowd seated around him told him,
"Your mother and your brothers and your sisters
are outside asking for you."
But he said to them in reply,
"Who are my mother and my brothers?"
And looking around at those seated in the circle he said,
"Here are my mother and my brothers.
For whoever does the will of God
is my brother and sister and mother."

MEDITATE

"He is possessed by Beelzebul,"

There will be no mincing of words here. When we read Scripture, it behooves us to tackle the hardest parts. For Jesus’ critics to claim that he was possessed by the devil, a few presumptions must be made. First, they must believe that the devil exists. Let’s not ignore the fact that this is good. It is good that his critics believe in the devil. It is good that they acknowledge the presence and the threat of evil. Second, if they believe he is possessed by the devil and are therefore suspicious of Jesus, then they must be suspicious of the devil’s intentions. This is also good.

Imagine people coming to this conclusion these days. If someone is acting in a way that seems strange to them, the last thing they’d conclude is that they’re possessed by the devil. We don’t have that kind of spiritual acuteness these days. I’ve heard people laugh at the very notion that demons exist. It wasn’t always that way. People used to acknowledge the very real presence of demons all around us, and they learned how to deal with that reality. We used to put gargoyles on our churches as a reminder that demons were probably lurking even there. People used to put apotropaic marks or “witches’ marks'' in their homes to avert evil. To believe such a thing would actually work to avert evil may have been superstitious, but at least people had an awareness of the ubiquitous presence of evil.

"How can Satan drive out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.”

Jesus worked with the desire for goodness that he sensed within his critics. He used this desire to show them the logic of unity. Even the devil knows that there is strength in numbers and that he cannot stand alone. He also needs legions of demons to do his mischief. Jesus’ sense of logic alludes to the dynamics and hierarchy of the spiritual world. If he so desired, Jesus could have called upon a host of angels to join him at any moment. This power would overpower any that the devil has. He could have revealed a host of angels at the very moment they were doubting him and criticizing him for casting out demons in Beelzebul’s name, but he didn’t. He spoke to them and reasoned with them. We can do this with God as well. If we are honest with him and with ourselves, our reason can lead us to faith.

“whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an everlasting sin."

This is one of the many sayings of Christ I struggle to understand. The only way to make sense of it is to see it like this: If we believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of Life who proceeds from the Father and the Son, then to blaspheme against the Holy Spirit is to blaspheme against life. God created life out of love, so to blaspheme life and the Holy Spirit is to blaspheme love.

But that doesn’t reconcile the entire struggle for me. In heated moments,  I have cursed life, I’ve said I’ve hated it, I’ve sworn I’ll never love again. Am I unforgivable? Many people have said similar things, in essence blaspheming against the Holy Spirit. Jesus said anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit cannot be forgiven after his critics said he had an unclean spirit, thereby calling the Holy Spirit unclean. Are they unforgivable? If that is the case, Jesus seems to be putting many people into the category of unforgivable.

Another question arises from all of this speculation, though. Why would Jesus bother telling them that such a sin is unforgivable if there were no chance for redemption for them? Why would he in essence tell them they’re going to hell for what they just said if his very mission on earth is to bring them a chance for redemption and forgiveness? This saying of Jesus really gets at the heart of Jesus’ teaching and mission.

I’ve heard it said many times that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is essentially the hardening of one’s heart, to the point where the person does not accept God’s mercy; but that doesn’t seem to follow what Jesus is saying.

It took some deeper meditation to really make the connection between blaspheming the Holy Spirit and hardening one’s heart. In the very moment that we sin, we are forgivable. God is always offering us his hand of mercy. But if our sin is to not accept God’s forgiveness, then—by our own stubbornness—we are unforgivable. This is not a deprivation in God’s mercy. It is the natural effect of our own impenitence and obstinacy. Can we be angry at God while remaining humble in other aspects of life? Perhaps this is possible if we have been taught a false gospel, but the Church has understood blasphemy against the Holy Spirit to be synonymous with—not just anger toward God, but also— a closed heart that is unwilling to accept God’s mercy either due to despair, presumption, impenitence, obstinacy, resisting truth, envy of another’s spiritual welfare, or some combination of those six sins. Those who blasphemed the Holy Spirit in this Gospel passage were committing at least one of these sins, yet even they could have been forgiven in some subsequent moment of their lives. Jesus speaks of sin in the present tense here. In the moment they are blaspheming against the Holy Spirit, they are unforgivable. That is a truth that will remain true forever, because God cannot go against one’s free will. If we do not want to be forgiven, he will not forgive us.

“For whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother."

Jesus is establishing a new kingdom which begins here on earth. We say we have brothers and sisters in Christ because we share a special bond with fellow believers. Jesus is not diminishing the importance of our true blood siblings here. However, this verse does sort of confirm that Jesus had no brothers and sisters. As for Mary, well, she did do the will of God so she is still his mother both spiritually and physically. Furthermore, this verse provides a beautiful reference for those who are in religious orders. We call consecrated religious “brother” or “sister” as a mutual testimony to their and our proclamation of the gospel. We call the head of female religious orders “mother” for the same reason. Everything in Catholic culture is rooted in the Gospels.

 

PRAY

Dear Lord,
This week I pray for the simple-heartedness that helped me accept your love in my youth. Life gets complicated, and I tend to trust less the older I get. If I am going to trust anyone though, it ought to be you. That will give me a firm foundation for all else that I should trust. Jesus, I trust in you. In Jesus’ name. —Amen

 

LISTEN

This Gospel passage really is about trust. How do we trust that we are not being misled by God? Listen to his words. He is not trying to deceive us. He appeals to our reason and invites us to see the logic in his power himself. He casts away evil, and yet—I admit—even as he does so I question his intentions. I question everything, but if this questioning leads to doubting God’s providence then it’s only going to lead to further division. The devil is all about dividing us, but God wants all believers to be one just as he, the Father, and the Holy Spirit are one. If we listen to his message of truth, we will see that it will lead us to all other truths we seek and then all believers will be united in that truth.

Glory Be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

 

 

About the Author:

David Kilby is a freelance writer from New Jersey and managing editor of Catholic World Report. He received his undergrad degree in humanities and Catholic culture from the Franciscan University of Steubenville. In addition to working with the Knights of the Holy Eucharist (knights.org), he has served as a journalist for Princeton Packet Publications, and the Trenton Monitor, the magazine for the Diocese of Trenton. Some of his published work can also be found in St. Anthony Messenger, Catholic Herald (UK), and Catholic World Report. For the latter he is managing editor. Find more of his writing at ramblingspirit.com