My wife and I attended Chautauqua in Tulsa on each of the last five nights. The annual, free, themed program under a big tent at the Historical Society features world-renowned scholars who come to portray a famous person and then answer questions. This year's theme was the World War I era and we got to "meet" General John BlackJack Pershing, Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, Native American artist Acee Blue Eagle, Josephine Baker, and Ernest Hemingway. Throughout the presentations one realizes how artistic personages struggle against misunderstanding and other challenges to succeed.
Let me suggest that, among other identifications, Jesus was an artist. An artist of lovely theological rhetoric. Consider the majesty of his "lilies of the field" discourse, the simple power in his parabolic teachings, and the majesty of his "high priestly prayer" in the John gospel which ranks among best farewell addresses of all time. Yet Jesus was quite misunderstood. In our pericope [Mk 3:20-35] of today, there is a double whammy. First, his own family conclude that he is "out of his mind." To be mentally ill, like all other maladies, was believed at the time to result from demonic possession. In turn, Jesus' professional detractors claim that an evil spirit has made Jesus an agent of "Satan," i.e. agent of evil.
Jesus' reply is powerful. First, he rightly points out that, as he is driving out evil and bringing fresh life and hope to people, the accusation means that the power of evil is driving out evil, which makes no sense, of course. In fact, Jesus decries people calling any work of God evil or calling an emissary of God "Satan." To do that is to call light darkness, to definitively reject the Kingdom of God. That, Jesus says, is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit and unforgivable!
When Mary and his step-siblings come round, Jesus says that whoever actualizes God's will is his family! The obvious takeaway is that the relationship among faithful people is the primary tie, that bonds among disciples are to be stronger than the bonds of blood relationship! The one who comes into the Church through baptism is added to a second family that takes priority based on real love lived out in the community and beyond.
Our pre-scientific Bible treats Evil as an independent force, expressed as a personality of Satan and minions. That calls for warfare. We must fight the battle in every venue -- home, church, school, in the streets, and in legislative halls. We may not always agree on method (that's very Anglican), but there is no excuse for inaction. We fight evil by living out the Christian message of love and service every day. Including love and service of those we perceive as enemies and persecutors. That is so because everyone, every human being, is a child of God. Everyone counts. Everyone is in need of redemption from ever being less than the person God has in mind.
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