Musical Prelude and Service.

1 Samuel 8:4-11 & Mark 3:20-35
So, while I was still a student, I had an encounter with a young man who was dealing with a few significant mental health challenges. At the time of this conversation, his behaviour was concerning a few others. In any case, he approached me asking if we could talk.
He pulled out a very well used copy of the New Testament and turned to this particular passage from Mark and pointed to the comment about blaspheming the holy spirit and how that is unforgiveable.
“This scares me,” he then said. “Whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never have forgiveness but is guilty of an eternal sin.”
“This scares me.”
What do you say? What do you tell someone who sems to have reached the depths of despair and is being told by the scripture he has held on to that he is beyond turning even to God for hope?
Well. I turned to the standard response that no matter what that passage says, Jesus’ death on a cross and his resurrection, points to the eternal nature of God’s redeeming love and that Jesus died for everyone.
It seemed to offer comfort, but I will confess that I have reflected on that conversation a lot in the ensuing years; wondering if there was another, more satisfying answer I could have provided in that moment.
I’m still not sure. What I have to say about it today I am pretty sure would not have ben useful in that intense and easily interrupted moment.
But I do want to open up this particular gospel story a little bit more.
Jesus has just cast out another demon. His popularity is growing – as is his controversy. His family;
in particular his mother and his brothers, are worried and express concern his mental health is at risk; to use more appropriate terms for our contemporary context.
Religious authorities looking to calm the growing masses, accuse Jesus of being under the power of Beelzebul; historically a deity worshipped by the Philistines, also named The Lord of the Flies, by the way.
And so, we get a few harsh statements by Jesus in response. This one about the unpardonable nature of blaspheming the spirit, and then him questioning who his family truly is. I think we can safely assume that in this moment, Jesus is not at all happy. He. Is. Angry.
He points out that if he was under the control of Beelzebul or Satan, the opponent of God, why, or how could he be casting out demons? He is fighting God’s opponents.
He argues he is working by God’s spirit. So how dare they say God’s spirit is unclean? This accusation about blaspheming the spirit is intended for a very specific group of people – those who have brought this charge.
And finally, he seems to turn his back on his family. His family; those he is related to by blood have started to doubt him, to question what he is doing. Jesus counters by declaring that he is closest to those who stand with him, hold to the same values, and who share his mission. Jesus turns to who is his chosen family.
We put a lot of stock in family. I don’t want to for a minute disparage that. When they work properly, families; those we are born into, are powerful and important bonds.
A few weeks ago, we marked Mother’s Day. Next week we recognize Father’s Day. The loving work of parents and the bonds we create with siblings and extended families are vital, and as I said, can be crucial in creating safe and supportive environments in which we are nurtured. When they work.
Until they don’t.
I grew up in a loving and supportive household. I had the love and care of a tight and loving extended family. I know of many others who have enjoyed the same, but I am also vividly aware that a great many people have not had the benefit of that kind of family support. That their birth families were not safe, were not supportive and were not nurturing. We kid ourselves if we deny this particular reality.
Perhaps Jesus’s family were genuinely concerned for his health. But Jesus sees them as failing to recognize who he truly was and what he was trying to do, and he chose the people around him who saw him for who he was and what he was trying to accomplish.
Jesus speaks some harsh words in today’s scripture. These are not easy things to hear.
Personally, I do not and cannot believe that there are some things that you cannot come back from in the eyes of God. But I also am very aware that there are things we say and do, sometimes without recognizing the harm we are doing that are not easy to redeem. We can say things that are incredibly difficult to walk back. That in the eyes of some people, especially those we have wounded that can seem unforgiveable.
So perhaps we should hear these words of Jesus with that in mind. We should speak with care, consider our words and how they will be received; no matter how we intend the message to be heard.
It is also important to hear Jesus’s words regarding family. That as crucial as family might be, it cannot and will not come between him and his relationship to God. God creates new family bonds. Family is measured and defined in more than blood in God’s eyes.
At the root of what we hear in Mark this morning is words of caution – Don’t forget your commitment to God. Don’t forget your relationship to God and how God is at work all around you. Be open to witnessing God at work all around you.
That is God’s warning in First Samuel as well.
Up until this point in Israel, the Hebrews have functioned in the land without a formal government structure. Certainly, no King. They are tribal; loosely based along familial lines. When crises come up, whether it be a conflict between tribes or individuals or there is a threat from an outside force, God will raise up what Israel calls Judges. Someone to provide wisdom and leadership to resolve the crisis. Samuel, who is a priest and a prophet, was also the last of the Judges.
The people of Israel, we are told, have lost trust in the system of Judges. They do not find enough sense of security in this way of life. They want the protection they see their neighbours enjoying under kings and emperors. God says they have lost faith, so give them the King they cry out for.
But that comes with a warning. Name yourself a king but remember: that means that a king; that so-called strong man will eventually exploit you, sacrifice your children for his own well being and his own ego. This is what will happen if you put your faith in someone other than God.
Don’t forget about your relationship with God. Don’t lose sight of how God is at work in the world around you. Trust in God.
I think we often yearn for stability. We hunger for safety; or what we perceive to be safety, but often sacrifice ourselves or others for a sense of strength and power. Or to feel that we are on the side of that power. We identify with the strength expressed by someone else, but in doing so, we lose our connection to a God of love and compassion who offers us peace and justice.
These are mistakes or missteps human beings keep making. Putting our trust in those who promise strength and power. They reassure us with decisiveness and sacrifice peace and justice and forget about compassion along the way. Those values are named weakness. It can be difficult to come back when we lose sight of God’s work and God’s promises. But again, we can, if we are ready to work at it. And remember who is our family? Who are our siblings in Christ? But if we follow these stories carefully, we are offered reassurance of God’s grace.
God continues to work through Kings Saul, David, Solomon; as flawed as they were. And we cannot forget that Mary was, in the end, at the crucifixion and at the tomb to witness to Christ’s resurrection.
Relationships can be redeemed. That’s part of the hope of the resurrection. God never abandons us, and new life; new possibilities, are always there. So long as our eyes, our ears, our hearts are open to witnessing God’s presence and God’s work, God’s spirit in our lives.

Music provided with permission through licensing with CCLI License number
2701258 and One License # A-731789