10th Sunday of OT, year ’B’
“Anyone who doe sthe will of God, that person is my mother and brother and sister.”
Today the Word of God enligtens us in the spiritual combat that we are leading in order to become’ master’ of ourselves. So that God becomes master in us we need to tie up what can overflow in us and that prevents us from following the Holy Spirit. This Word has us take a look at the combat of Jesus who delivers us. And so we can come to realise that our own spiritual combat is in that of Jesus’. As Jesus is conqueror, we are already conquerors.
In the ordeal that went on at the beginning ,God, like a Beloved One, comes and has a conversation with his beloved.
’So where are you?’
’ I was afraid so I hid myself.’
So what happened? This ordeal we see in the first reading is the first rupture between humanity and God. We know that this first rupture is still going on, it is due to the influence of the snake : ’The snake deceived me, ’said Eve. We see him reappear in the Gospel, named ’prince of flies, Beelzebub.’ Whereas Jesus is doing good, his family says of him ’He’s lost his mind.’ As for the scribes they say ’It is by Satan that he is expulsing devils.’
We become aware of the spiritual combat and its depth in which Jesus is engaged in order to set us free. Through his Passion and Resurrection, Jesus frees us from all sorts of combats! Saint Paul in his own way says it : ’Exterior man is going to his ruin..our gaze is attatched not to what is visible, for what is visible passes away.’ we want to believe in the Infinite Love of God and put our hope in God alone.’ We know, the One who has brought to life the Lord Jesus will have us rise again. We tooshall rise with Jesus and He will plcae us near to Him . And all that happens to us is through you so that the grace that is more abundant in you making more numerous may make an immense thanksgiving rise up. This is why we don’t lose courage, the inner man is renewed day after day.
Mk.3v.20 He went home again and once more such a crowd collected that they could not even have a meal.
When his relations heard of this; they set out to take charge of him; they said, ’He is out of hsi mind.’
The scribs who had come out of Jerusalem were saying ’Beelzebul is in him’ and ’It is through the prince of devils that he drives devils out.’
’So he called them to him and spoke to them in parables, ’How can Satn drive out Satan? If a kingdom is divied against himself, that kingdom cannot last.
Now if Satan has rebelled against himself and is divided, he cannot last either- it is teh end of him.
But no one can make his way into a strong man’s house and plunder his property unles he has first tied up the strong man.Only then can he plunder his house.
In truth I tell uyou, all human sinswill be forgiven, and all the blasphemies ever uttered ; but anyone who blasphemes against the Holy spiritwill never be forgiven, but is guilty of an eternal sin.
This was because they were saying ’ there is an unclean spirit in him.’
Now his mother and his brothers arrived, and , staanding outside, sen tin a message asking for him.
’Look, your mother and brothers and sisters are outside loking for you.’
He replied ’Who are my mother and my brothers?’
And looking at those sitting in a circle around 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."