GOSPEL READING:
Mark 3:19b, 20-21Then he went home; 20 and the crowd came together again, so that they could not even eat. 21 And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for people were saying, "He is beside himself."
Meditation: Is the Lord Jesus honored in your home? Why
would Jesus' relatives be so upset with him when he began his
public ministry? On one occasion Jesus remarked that a man's
enemies will be the members of his own household (Matthew
10:36). The Gospel of Mark records the reaction of Jesus'
relatives when he went home: they came to seize him. They,
no doubt, thought that Jesus must have gone mad or become a
religious fanatic. How could a good home-body from Nazareth leave
his carpentry trade and go off to become a traveling preacher? To
their way of thinking, Jesus had thrown away the security and
safety of a quiet and respectable life close to his family and
relatives.
Do not be afraid to follow Jesus all the way
Jesus probably expected to meet opposition from the highest
religious authorities in Jerusalem. For him to meet opposition
from his own relatives must have been even harder. When we choose
to be disciples of the Lord Jesus and to follow his will for our
lives, we can expect to meet opposition from those who are opposed
to the Gospel message and Christian way of life. But the hardest
opposition may actually come from someone close to us, a family
member or close friend who doesn't want us to take the Gospel
message too seriously.
Jesus met opposition - whether from family, friend, or foe - with
grace and determination to fulfill his Father's will. Are you
ready to obey and follow the Lord Jesus even if others oppose your
doing so?
Lord Jesus, may I always put you first and find joy in doing your will. May your love and charity grow in me, especially in the face of opposition and adversity.
Psalm 47:2-3,7-9
2 For the LORD, the Most High, is awesome, a great king over all the earth.
3 He subdued peoples under us, and nations under our feet.
7 For God is the king of all the earth; sing praises with a psalm!
8 God reigns over the nations; God sits on his holy throne.
9 The princes of the peoples gather as the people of the God of Abraham. For the shields of the earth belong to God; he is highly exalted!
Daily Quote from the Early Church Fathers: Jesus' worried kinfolk, by Jerome (347-420 AD)
"In the Gospel we read that even his kinsfolk desired to bind him
as one of weak mind (Mark 3:21). His opponents also reviled him
saying, 'You are a Samaritan and have a devil' (John 8:48)." (excerpt
from LETTER 108, TO EUSTOCHIUM)
