WHICH FAMILY? WHICH NATION?

 

A Devotion on Mark 3:20-21, 31-35 

Recently my adult Sunday School class in its study of the Gospel of Mark in the Christian New Testament focused in on chapter 3. I was particularly drawn to verses 20-21 and 31-35 as they give us a segway into the family of Jesus. I know that Mark homes in on the action as he is the type of author who is “more action, less words.” Yet I wish that he would have slowed down a bit to give his readers more detail on the family dynamics displayed here.

What we read in verses 20-21 is that Jesus and his inner core of disciples had been busy ministering to the people and that they had entered a house, and the crowd was so huge that Jesus and his disciples could not eat. So his family sought to restrain (“arrest”) him because he was “out of his mind.” Say what? Let’s get Mark’s account straight- Jesus could not eat because of the crowd so his unidentified family members desired to get Jesus into custody because he had lost his mind! This was more than a mere time out- this was a full-blown attempt at a hyper-intervention on the part of the family to short circuit Jesus’s ministry. I will let the reader speculate on the family dynamics at play here.

Now on to verses 31-35. Mark’s account here informs us that Jesus is teaching and his family- now identified as his mother, his brothers, and his sisters- are on the outside of the crowd asking to see him (another attempt at an intervention?). Jesus is informed of their presence and then announces a truth quite remarkable and profound-

“Who are my mother and my brothers? (Looking at those at those sitting in a circle around him.) Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”

Wow! Being a part of the spiritual family of Jesus is ultimately more essential for us than our own birth families. Again, I will let the reader speculate on the family dynamics at play here. I will inject into Mark’s narrative a logical conclusion. If indeed being a part of the family of Jesus is more significant than being parts of our birth families, what does that for our nationalities? Or more precise, if Spirit over Blood, then Spirit over Americanism!

Please do not get me wrong. I am as patriotic as the next American (or at least most of them). I am a veteran who served as a Field Artillery Sergeant in the Army, I vote regularly, I stand for the National Anthem, I stay informed of current events, and I volunteer in the community. Being a Christian does not negate citizenship or family responsibilities.

And yet being a Christian I have more in common eternally with fellow Christ followers in China, India, and Latin America than I have with my fellow Americans who refuse to follow Jesus. And my commonality with fellow believers globally transcends our skin colors, race, languages, and income levels.

Once again, I will leave it to the reader to speculate on the family dynamics at play here. But do not speculate too long- there are no “do-overs” on family selections in the afterlife.