Finding Faith ... in knowing Jesus-led living will look crazy to the world

EDITOR'S NOTE: On Oct. 23, 2021, I was ordained as a minister of word and sacrament in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and installed as pastor at Faith Lutheran Church in Wolverton, Minn. I also served the same church for four years from October 2017 to October 2021 a synodical authorized minister. The journey together these past seven years has been an amazing one, full of learning, growing and a deepening of my theological mind. This sermon took place on June 12, 2024.

This week's gospel: Mark 3:20-35

Jesus and Beelzebul

20 Then he went home, and the crowd came together again, so that they could not even eat. 21 When his family heard it, they went out to restrain him, for people were saying, “He has gone out of his mind.” 22 And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, “He has Beelzebul, and by the ruler of the demons he casts out demons.” 23 And he called them to him and spoke to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. 26 And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but his end has come. 27 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.

28 “Truly I tell you, people will be forgiven for their sins and whatever blasphemies they utter, 29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never have forgiveness but is guilty of an eternal sin”— 30 for they had said, “He has an unclean spirit.”

The True Kindred of Jesus

31 Then his mother and his brothers came, and standing outside they sent to him and called him. 32 A crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers[a] are outside asking for you.” 33 And he replied, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” 34 And looking at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”

The message:

Faith Family … a moment of honesty with you … There are some scriptural passages that when they come up … frankly I am absolutely stumped as to where the Holy Spirit is taking us.

And tonight is one of those passages. … I mean where in all things holy do we go with this passage? What was Mark intending when this was written some 2,000 years ago?

And just what was it that Jesus was doing that was so crazy … so out of the ordinary … that had both the ruling religious leaders of the day … AND his family so concerned?

So concerned that at first we are told that his family wanted to “restrain” Jesus from the public because they thought he was crazy … right? … “for people were saying, “He has gone out of his mind.” 

And next, things have evidently gotten so bad that the Pharisees accuse Jesus of being full of Beelzebul! … I mean Faith Family, they are accusing Jesus of being Satan himself!

What is going on here!?!?

Well … I think the only thing that makes sense to me here … is that not only the religious leaders of the day … but Jesus’ own family do not recognize that he is so full of the Holy Spirit … that they do not recognize his actions as being “normal.” … As the actions a “normal” person would make.

Now, let’s think about that for a moment … 

Remember back to last week when we were talking about God’s incarnation as being disruptive to the status quo … that God came to remind people that the laws and commandments were made for humankind, not the other way around?

Well, I think what’s happening here is in the same vein.

I think Jesus’ Holy diving actions … are so foreign … so unrecognizable to even God’s own people -- these self-professed Jewish people -- that they think he is crazy … or worse yet … that he is possessed by Satan.

Can you imagine that? … Jesus’ own family wondering about his sanity?

Well, of course you can. … Because you know people like this in your life. … Or at the very least, you know of people like this. … Right?

Those people who are so very full of the Holy Spirit … whose actions make no earthly sense. … Their selflessness, their generosity … their compassion … all demonstrate a level of selflessness no normal human should possess. … These folks’ actions just don’t line up with human expectations.

And so … the natural conclusion is … well, there must be something wrong with them! … Right? 

That’s what both the scribes and Jesus’ family are thinking of him here in tonight’s gospel. … Because there just ain’t no way that this young, upstart rabbi can come and turn the world on its head as much as he’s trying to.

That’s just not how the earthly kingdom works. … Obviously, Jesus is crazy. … Restrain him! Lock him up! … Perform an exorcism on him!

To us, with the benefit of our 20/20 hindsight, this all may seem shameful, right? … Shameful that Jesus’ family would have such doubts about him. … Shameful that the scribes would try to cast aspersions on him.

After all … weren’t Jesus and the religious leaders supposed to be on the same side?

Wouldn’t someone expect their family … of all people … to be the ones lining up behind them, saying, “We got your back, Jesus!”

But such is the power of the Holy Spirit, Faith Family. 

And such is the difference between the heavenly kingdom and this earthly one.

Faith Family, Jesus came to disrupt this earthly kingdom. … Jesus came to turn it on its head. … Jesus came to demonstrate to us that the meek will inherit the earth … that those who have suffered here in this kingdom will be the first in line in the heavenly kingdom … that those who mourn here will dance with joy one day in heaven.

And on and on … Jesus will heal the wounded on the sabbath, and he won’t so much as blink when his disciples work to feed themselves on the sabbath as well.

The list of Jesus’ disruptions will be long. … And frankly, to most of the Jewish faithful of the first century -- including Jesus’ family and the scribes -- the things that Jesus is preaching and doing … will look crazy.

Even worse yet, they will look demonic.

But before we get up on our soapbox thanks to the benefit of 2,000 years of hindsight, don’t we act a little bit like the scribes … and even Jesus’ family?

I mean what is it that we do when we encounter someone who we think is too good to be true? 

Someone that maybe acts just a little too kind … or is a little too giving? 

What do we think when we learn of stories of people who give away fortunes for no reason other than they want to help?

Or when we learn of someone who maybe volunteers an extraordinary amount of time to work with those less fortunate? … Or those who shun the corporate world to go into professions that are more about service than profit?

If we are honest with ourselves … every … single … one of us has encountered someone who just seems absolutely too good to be true. … Right? … You know such a person; I’m sure of it. 

And on some level you know that we’ve thought … that person must be crazy! … Or worse, yet … those actions are so abnormal, that person must be possessed. 

Well, Faith Family, if you found yourself answering this question with: Yes, I’m guilty … take heart. … Because Jesus’ family thought him to be crazy too. … So we’re not alone in our failings!

Faith Family … what this gospel text tonight makes me think about is this … when we invite the Holy Spirit into our lives it will change us so entirely … so completely … that even those closest to us may not recognize us. … They might think of us as crazy … or even worse. 

That is how powerfully disruptive inviting the Holy Spirit into our lives is! 

When we look back on the way that Jesus lived, there is no surprise for us … because we have the benefit of knowing the entire story arc, right? 

But it should come as no surprise to us that Jesus’s life and ways were going to look out of place in a world that valued power, greed and wealth … in an earthly kingdom whose values were diametrically opposed to the heavenly kingdom’s values. … Right? … That makes sense.

So I think the value in tonight’s gospel for us … is that it invites us to look around us and see those in today’s world who are filled with the Holy Spirit … and embrace them. … Lift them up and celebrate them for the divine spirit warriors that they are.

Because, Faith Family, much like Jesus … they are indeed not crazy … and they are indeed not demonic … we just need to recognize that being filled with the Holy Spirit is just … that … powerful.

Once you’re divinely captured … your actions to the rest of the world … are just going to look that crazy. … And that is OK. … After all, Jesus’ family thought he was crazy too! 

And that is the Good News for this Wednesday, June 12, 2024, the third week after Pentecost. … Amen!