As the restrictions of lockdown are easing out, as we begin to rethink about the being and re-becoming of our churches, we are called to reflect on how we are known as a church in our community today? Perhaps the other way to ask is how better can we be known as a church apart from our buildings and locations? Some of the posters outside the church during the lockdown read, “we as a church have gone online” and they are still hanging outside some church buildings. How can we re-turn as churches offline again during this post lockdown? Perhaps it's time, we prayerfully wait on God to listen to God’s voice for our mission today.
In Mark 3:20-35, we read Jesus being (mis)branded by the people in his society for his radical inclusive gospel. In verse 21, his family members were trying to protect Jesus as people were saying, “He has gone out of his mind.” Then later in verse 22, we see Sadducees (mis)branding Jesus that, “Jesus has Beelzebul, and by the ruler of the demons he casts out demons.” Jesus confronted these allegations and (mis)branding of him and spoke to them in parables and again reiterated what they have said, which is, “He has an unclean spirit” (30v). Right at the start of his ministry, Jesus received allegations and accusations by the religious authorities. There are many themes in this text, which include the conversations with Jesus’ family members and the unforgiveness of the sin on the Holy Spirit, and about the parable of stealing a strong man. Jesus was known in his community as an insane person, as a demonic and as an untouchable, all because he put life before law, love before legalities.
Why was Jesus (mis)branded as an insane person? In the previous chapter 2, we see Jesus calling Levi, a tax-collector to follow him, and then was dining with tax-collectors, which the religious pharisees complained saying, “Why does he eat with sinners and tax-collectors?” (2:16) Jesus confronted them saying that he has come to call not the righteous but sinners at that point. Later he reinterpreted sabbath, when Pharisees complained against Jesus that he was breaking the law saying, “sabbath was made for humankind and not human kind for the sabbath, and the Son of Man is the lord even of the sabbath” (2:27-28). In Chapter 3:1-5, Jesus heals a withered man on a sabbath and the Pharisees conspiring with Herodian against Jesus, “how to destroy him” (3:6). Jesus then healed many people from different parts including the region around Tyre and Sidon, which are gentile areas. Perhaps such a thing of meeting the strangers and healing people from such non-Jewish regions would have also irked the religious authorities, for Jesus was healing and treating everyone equally transcending all boundaries. Many people who had unclean spirits were healed by Jesus and they were shouting at Jesus, “You are the Son of God'' (3:11), which would have been blasphemous to the ears of Pharisees and Sadducees.
In essence, Jesus was (mis)branded as insane person for the way he has come out in the society radically altering the doctrine and practice of the law, and not according to the way of these religious authorities, who were considering themselves to be the custodians of the law. If Jesus upheld the status quo of the religious law and practice, these Pharisees, Sadducees, Scribes from Jerusalem and Herodians wouldn’t have a problem with Jesus. On the contrary Jesus disrupts such status quo, breaks down the walls of division, resists empire, befriends with people who are considered outcasts, embraces the excluded and builds a just and inclusive community, for which the cost he has to pay was to be (mis)branded as a ‘person who has lost his mind,’ a person who has Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons inside him and as a person with unclean spirits.
Jesus counters these (mis)branding by raising several questions as he speaks in parables. By contesting these (mis)brandings, Jesus was also countering the stigmatisation of people with mental health issues, for people ‘who have lost their minds were looked down and discriminated against in their society. Here are at least five things that Jesus spoke in this context, offering hope and courage in the journey of the mission.
How can Satan cast out Satan? (23v) - One of Jesus’ mission was to cast out the demons of his times, which includes the empire who exploit the poor and the powerless and religious fundamentalism: the system that oppresses people based on law, texts and rituals. Therefore, when Jesus raised this question, he was revealing his mission on one hand and on the other exposing the nexus of evil with religious authorities and the empire.
If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand (24v) – Jesus once again was challenging that there are divisions in their land in the name of identity, region, religion, gender etc. was calling on them to overcome their divisions so that they can all together and unitedly fight against the greater evil the Roman empire. One of the mantras of the empire is to divide and rule, so Jesus was provoking his listeners including the religious authorities to resist that division and stand united in their fight for liberation of their land.
If a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand (25v) – Jesus was emphasising the unity, togetherness, co-operation, partnership among the people of the same household, for it is love that unites them all together in their diversity. If a house doesn’t nurture a spirit of unity in diversity and either strives for uniformity or suppresses the difference, such a house will not be able to stand. This again was a challenge that Jesus was throwing at his listeners to strive to celebrate unity in love and humility in a house to stay together.
But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his property without first tying up the strong man; then indeed the house can be plundered (27v) – Now that Jesus and his people are living under the occupation of the Roman empire in that first century Palestine, by this parable Jesus was inspiring his people and calling them by saying in order to liberate their land from the Roman empire, they need to tie down the powers and principalities in their land for only then comes liberation, plundering back what was plundered from them. Jesus again was revealing his mission, which is to tie down the powers and principalities and inviting his fellow citizens to join in that mission so that collectively ‘plunder’ and liberate their land and people from the occupation.
Anyone who blasphemes against Holy Spirit can never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin (28v) – All that Jesus has been doing was by the Spirit of God in him, and so at this point Jesus warns his community that if anyone tires to chain this Spirit, wants to dictate terms to the Spirit of God or limit the ambit of the Spirit of God to only few chosen people, they will not enjoy the freedom that the Spirit of God offers. In a way Jesus was saying let us celebrate the unpredictability and ambiguity of the Spirit of God, for she is like a wind not knowing from where it comes and to where it goes.
1. Today who do people say we are as Christians and as a Church? Are we known by our love or by our doctrine or by our tradition or by our ritual or by our texts? Perhaps this given text is a call for us to be known in our community by our love. Towards that cause we might be (mis)branded, yet it is worth being (mis)branded for the cause of love rather being branded ‘righteous’ with our exclusive attitudes.
2. Jesus is inviting us to join with him in the mission of casting out the demons of our society today. Demons like inequality, racism, casteism, occupation, tax dodging, discrimination, consumerism, fundamentalism etc. – As churches we are called to contest these demons and strive for a just world.
3. We are called to celebrate unity in diversity, celebrating difference, practicing humility in accepting and receiving one another in all fronts of life today.
4. Let us be prepared to be surprised by the Spirit of God, for she comes with a spark of unpredictability and graciousness, calling to love everyone beyond any doubt.
5. As churches we have a role to support people with mental health issues, offering friendship, love and cordiality and resisting any form of stigmatisation of people.
May the Spirit of God be with us in our being known as Christians and as a Church by our love for the ‘other.’ May the Spirit of God be with us in contesting the demons of our times and strive for the Kingdom of God here on the earth. Amen.
Raj Bharat Patta,
3rd June 2021
1 comment:
always love it when there is a section entitled "What is the relevance of this text in our context today?" I'm going to talk more of the unforgivable sin as it has left such a trauma to so many over the millennia. (Released Sunday)
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