A House Divided

Then Jesus went home; and the crowd came together again, so that they could not even eat. When his family heard it, they went out to restrain him, for people were saying, “He has gone out of his mind.” And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, “He has Beelzebul, and by the ruler of the demons he casts out demons.” And he called them to him, and spoke to them in parables, “How can Satan cast 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, but his end has come. 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. “Truly I tell you, people will be forgiven for their sins and whatever blasphemies they utter; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”—for they had said, “He has an unclean spirit.” Then his mother and his brothers came; and standing outside, they sent to him and called him. A crowd was sitting around him; and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers and sisters are outside, asking for you.” And he replied, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” And looking at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.” Mark 3:19b-35 

It is easy to say. "we are all family here", but to truly live it out, is another thing completely. Families are complicated, messy and imperfect human groups in the best of times. To truly be family, is to love the troublemakers, the goof balls, the fragile and the arrogant, and to make room for others at the table. Being family calls for sitting with the pain and mess of real life. Jesus called his disciples, his biological family and the religious leaders to be one group together. He called them all family. He loved them all the same and loves us all the same. May we see all creation as our family, living and serving despite the messiness and divisions of the world around us.

Gracious Creator, you call us your family

in our brokenness and our many hurts

you call us to be kin and interdependent,

so the world might mend through your love.

We humans like to divide and conquer

yet you call us to heal and to serve

to make our tables big enough for all

and to see our enemies as our relations.

Give us your strength today to follow

in your way of love and humble service

let us be siblings to all the suffering ones

and family to the isolated and alone. Amen.