Year B
 Genesis 3:8-15
 Psalm 130
 2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1
 Mark 3:20-35

May the words of my mouth O God…  speak your truth…

Sometimes…  people we know…  will think that we’ve lost our mind…  in a S4 episode of Friends…  Phoebe accuses Ross…  of being completely out of his mind…  after he proposes playing a quiz game to settle a dispute between them…  in an episode of The Office…  Michael Scott…  the regional manager…  who people experience…  let’s say…  as eccentric…  occasionally faces accusations of being out of his mind…  in S7 of Seinfeld…  Elaine is accused by her boyfriend’s mother…  of being out of her mind…  after she confronts the notorious Soup Nazi over his rude behavior…  and in several episodes of The Big Bang Theory…  Sheldon’s peculiar habits often lead others to question his sanity…

And we’ve heard stories…  like…  his relatives said he must be out of his mind…  let’s send him to Christian reparative therapy…  so they can pray the gay away…  his friends said he must be out of his mind…  he’s going to begin seminary thirty years after having graduated from college  [ point at self ]…  they said he must be out of his mind…  he’s sold all he had and has given the money to the poor… he must be out of his mind giving money to that televangelist…  to that political candidate…  to that man begging for alms on the street-corner…  Jesus must be out of his mind…  just listen to his radical…  progressive…  inclusive theology…

Jesus is accused by the scribes of casting out demons by the power of Beelzebul [ bee-EHL-zee-buhl ]…  who is the Prince of Demons…  and the name Beelzebul is thought to have originated from the Philistine god Baal-Zebub…  whose less than complimentary name…  means Lord of the Flies…  or as others interpret it…  Lord of the Dung Heap…  which would also attract flies…

And Jesus responds with a parable that could be called…  How can Satan cast out Satan…  he explains that if a kingdom is divided against itself…  it cannot stand…  that if a house is divided against itself…  neither can it stand…  and if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided…  he cannot stand…  but is coming to an end…  that it would be his demise…  but no one…  he says…  can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods…  unless he first binds the strong man…  then he can ransack it…  and take all that he wants…

And of course…  this parable’s strongman is Satan…  and the house symbolizes his domain…  and it is filled with those he has captured through sin and possession…  ]  and Jesus…  by performing exorcisms and liberating people from demonic influences…  is effectively plundering Satan’s house…  is rescuing God’s creation…  but for Jesus to do this…  he must first bind the strongman…  which shows that Jesus has the authority and the power to subdue Satan…  this highlights a crucial aspect of Jesus’ mission…  which is the defeat of evil and the liberation of humanity from the powers of darkness…  you see…  Jesus’ ability to bind the strongman highlights his divine authority…  and his role as Redeemer…  ]  and more so…  by casting out demons…  he demonstrates that he’s more powerful than Satan…  because he is the Son of God…  God incarnate…

Now v.15 in our reading from Genesis…  is part of the proto-evangel-ium…  which means the…  first gospel…  the first Good News…  the first hint of redemption…  the foreshadowing of a Redeemer…  and we find the phrase…  he will strike your heel…  ]  in the context of a battle…  a strike to the heel is painful and debilitating…  but not lethal…  but here…  it may refer to a figurative strike to Jesus’ heel…  that is…  his crucifixion…  while excruciating and real…  it is not the end of the story…  because Jesus’ resurrection demonstrates that his suffering and injury were not permanent…  while the prior  phrase…  he will strike your head…  likely refers to Jesus’ final death blow to death…  ]  so as early as Genesis…  in the beginning…  God lay God’s initial plan to defeat evil and restore humanity…

And Jesus affirms that people’s sins…  and the blasphemies they utter…  will be forgiven… but he spells out the seriousness of claiming that his works are fueled by demonic powers…  and says that one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit is guilty of an eternal sin…  and can never have forgiveness…  and this sin is regarded as unforgivable because it represents a conscious and deliberate rejection of the grace and power of God…  because the scribes’ accusation that Jesus was possessed by an evil spirit…  and performed miracles by demonic power…  was a direct affront to the Holy Spirit working through Jesus…  ]  and this blasphemy is not a single act…  but reflects a persistent state of willful unbelief…  and hardness of heart… ]  it’s a refusal to acknowledge the work of the Holy Spirit…  and by extension…  a rejection of God’s redemptive plan…  ]  it’s someone’s outright denial of this truth…  because even when they’re confronted with clear evidence of God’s power…  forgiveness is impossible…  not because God is unwilling to forgive…  but because these persons are unwilling to seek forgiveness and accept divine grace… ]  and in a way…  to reject this forgiveness…  to reject this grace… one would have to be out of their mind…

In Jesus’ time…  family was the cornerstone of social and religious life…  it provided identity…  support…  and a sense of belonging…  strong family bonds ensured survival and continuity of traditions…  and so Jesus’ family went out to restrain him…  they may have been concerned about his reputation…  his safety…  and his mental well-being…  but they may also have been concerned about their own reputations…  because of the public speculation…  that he was out of his mind…  but Jesus used this opportunity to teach about the true nature of family…  when told that his mother and brothers were outside seeking him…  he asked…  who are my mother and my brothers…  and looking at those around him… he highlighted the spiritual bond which transcended biological relationships…

This statement redefines the concept of family in the kingdom of God…  Jesus emphasizes that spiritual kinship…  marked by obedience to God’s will…  takes precedence over biological relationships…  this radical redefinition challenges traditional social norms and underscores the inclusivity of Jesus’ mission…  it invites all believers into a new family…  united by faith…  and a commitment to God’s will…

In just a few minutes…  we will…  in community…  baptize Julia…  now baptism is an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace…  in it…  we will graft her onto and into the body of Christ…  she will be received into a new spiritual family…  which extends beyond Two Churches…  and both of our denominations…  she will be marked by a… profound shift in identity and belonging…  which transcends biological ties and social divisions…  in baptism…  we are symbolically buried with Christ in his death and raised to new life…  this act of dying and rising with Christ signifies a rebirth…  in which we become a new creation…  and we are incorporated into the communal body of Christ… in which distinctions melt away…  and we experience mutual love and support…  which helps us advance God’s kingdom on earth…

Some people may think that when we accept as gift…  God’s immeasurable love… radical grace… unmerited forgiveness…  and eternal life…  that we must be out of our minds to believe such things…  but that…  is when we’re in our right minds…  that…  is when we’re the most sane of all…  that…  is when we’ve finally got it right…