June 9, 2024 This Homily was not delivered at Mass as I am out of the country
Genesis 3: 9-15 + Psalm 130 + 2 Corinthians 4: 13-5: 1 + Mark 3: 20-35
In Mark’s clever style, without getting into the dialogue of these verses, we might pay attention to the way he sets the scene because that is as important as the dialogue. Notice that there are three groups of people in this passage. There are two groups outside who should probably be inside. His family is outside, and I think it’s odd that they are not inside close to him. Somehow, they do not seem able to listen to him either because they are afraid of what others will think about their family or because they are jealous that someone from the family gets more attention than they do. Outside with them are those scribes from headquarters, experts in the Scriptures. Instead of being inside engaged in a conversation with Jesus, they are outside fussing over what they heard others were saying that Jesus said. In the meantime, there is that crowd inside sitting with Jesus, listening for God’s will so attentive that they missed lunch because Mark tells us that it was impossible for them even to eat.
Sometimes with the Gospels it is not always the words that speak to us. In this case, these details give us more than enough to ponder as we are left to think about to which group we belong. If we are inside, I wonder if we would be attentive enough and take Jesus seriously enough to even skip a meal, a golf game, or a long nap. The point is, we need to be inside if we are ever going to hear Jesus and listen for God’s will. If we are outside, we might just be there because we are embarrassed or uncomfortable because we know Jesus and are worried about what others may think or say about us if we go inside. There is also that other group picking at and pushing back because someone is asking them to change or give another thought to what they do, believe, and how they act.
As I think more about this scene, it begins to feel like a description of our own times, and why not? The Gospel is timeless. Mark tells us that Jesus is in his home. For now, and for us, that’s the church. There are lots of reasons to be outside. None of them good. There is also a challenge to those who are inside to pay attention – a lot of attention, always in an effort to understand and fulfill the Father’s will.