From the responsorial psalm: “Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD; LORD, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to my voice in supplication. With the Lord there is mercy, and fullness of redemption.”
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark (Mk 3:20-35)
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.”
Today’s Gospel begins and ends with descriptions of family. So great is the crowd that gathers around Jesus, they make it impossible for him to take time to eat. When his relatives hear of this, they go to remove him from the situation, saying, “He is out of his mind.” At the same time, the scribes claim that he is possessed by Beelzebul. Jesus responds to this by pointing out the inconsistency of the argument. He explains that Satan cannot cast out Satan because a kingdom divided against itself cannot stand. He tells them that no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his possessions unless he first binds the strong man, Satan. Jesus himself binds the strong man and frees us from him. As his mother and brothers stand outside asking for him, Jesus looks at the crowd circled around him and says, “Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.” Obedience to God’s will—free from the bondage of sin and blame—redefines and expands the meaning of family and is an invitation to unity with brothers and sisters in his undivided kingdom.
God, help me imitate Christ your Son, the New Adam, in recognizing brothers and sisters who do your will as part of my family with Christ as its head. Division is real, and taken in my own hands this is an impossible task. The Gospel passage says that to “those seated in the circle” Jesus said, “Here are my mother and my brothers.” Hear my voice, Lord, when I ask to remain close to Jesus in this earthly existence even as you ready me in it for eternal life. In daily life—in its struggles, its trials—help me see what is unseen for the sake of your glory. “For this momentary light affliction,” Saint Paul says, “is producing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to what is seen but to what is unseen; for what is seen is transitory, but what is unseen is eternal.” I trust in you, LORD; my soul trusts in your word. Keep me in your care!
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.