Voldemort – don’t speak of it

In the Harry Potter series of films, books etc there was one character whose name was not to the spoken : Voldemort. It was like we were to be acute aware of him but not speak of it ‘less we speak of the nasty things of what he had done. [Spoiler alert: I am not linking Voldemort with the Trinity] Don’t speak of it!

Family turns the Tables

In this week’s New Testament passage (Mark 3:20-35) we come upon a testy scene where the family have apparently turned tables on Jesus and Jesus’ detractors are looming large. When we step back from the scene, we notice that those who don’t agree with Jesus have been annoyed for some time. He has healed a leper’s hand and a paralytic man, stating “your sins are forgiven” – much to the annoyance of the Scribes, the leaders of the Temple authorities (Mark 2:10). Jesus spoke about table fellowship – a key feature of Jewish life – which started to increase the number of those against him: it now includes the Herodians (Mark 3:6). Here, we have the priests, scribes and the administrative rulers of the area all aligned…the native Galilean aristocracy is against him.

He takes himself away, with his new followers, and appoints them as his disciples – new leaders of the ‘Temple’ perhaps.

Not even a cuppa

You’d have thought that to go home we might find a welcome, a cuppa and a place to put up your feet. Not so here. Jesus can’t even have a cuppa without the house full of people clamouring for his attention – it may be like those media scrums where privacy is not permitted. However, the family have had enough. Not sure who the family are at this point – no mention of Joseph, there are reports that he had died by this point. The family say “He is out of his mind”. Given our expectations of our children and that Jesus may not be adhering to the typical desires of the family here, this statement ‘out of his mind’ may not be about Jesus’ mental ability but about their concerns. Perhaps when people express an opinion about another, they may be saying more about themselves, less specifically about the other.

Lord of the Flies?

The Scribes, all the way from Jerusalem, then join in: “He is possessed by Beelzebub” (Mark 3:24). He is possessed by the Lord of the Flies, one from the god Baal. Beelzebub is known as Satan’s chief lieutenant in the 1667 epic poem Paradise Lost by John Milton. They claim that Jesus’ work is of the ruler of demons, even Satan. Let us be clear here that the word used is Satanas, meaning enemy or adversary. In the many translations from Hebrew to Greek and Latin and then English, this word has had to be formed, pressed, into the newer languages. In this case, it is the opposite of what is good, or God. But let’s not get drawn away from the real focus here.

The accusation here is that Jesus’ actions are bad. Well, to the Scribes, it is bad, very bad. Why? because their power is being removed. We may like to pull the strings, to control the action.

Control & Power

The control they possess as the authority in the Temple is to dictate the life of people. The Torah gives the followers the code to follow, but they added to it. Jesus’ work has been one of liberation, freeing people to live their life: yes worshipping God but being released to live their life to the full. The actions of Jesus to heal a leper’s hand, to heal a paralytic man enabled those individuals to return to society and be an integral part to that society. Their illness isn’t even a factor it is that they were released from that bond. What matters is that whatever is holding us back, of doing good in society, to let others see God’s Kin_dom, can be released – and that applies to us all. Don’t speak of it? No let’s engage!

So what matters?

The Scribes seemingly forgot was that Jesus’ motivation didn’t align to theirs. The evidence of Jesus’ work, that of healing, peace, restoration, love – you know the small things in life – were ignored as the Scribes initial perceptions of why is Jesus doing this didn’t match up with theirs.

Perhaps when we see others doing great important significant work for society we might say “but they are only in it for themselves“, or “they get great publicity for that“. Consider the results rather than the motivation. Often the work for God’s Kin_dom may be done by those who are not Christians. The Sikhs who produce hot meals in many towns across the country, those of no faith who offer people time to listen to their woes and walk with them on that part of their journey.

Blasphemy

The Scribes have accused Jesus of demonic power. Jesus’ response is to say that you can say negative things about the Son of Man but not the Holy Spirit. It is an unforgivable sin. Don’t speak of it. Whoa! I think there are only three instances in the Bible (Ephesians 4:30; Hebrews 10:29; and Hebrews 12:27) where such a clause is given, all related to the Holy Spirit. Hey, why can we diss the Son of Man but not the Holy Spirit?

The Son of Man was a title that meant ‘God amongst the people’. Jesus is portrayed, by Marcus Borg, in two perspectives. Firstly the pre-Easter Jesus, and then the post-Easter Christ. The full deification is fully apparent post-Easter. Some will disagree with this – I would highly recommend reading Marcus Borg’s Jesus in this case.

Other Gospels

It’s odd that, given that Mark’s Gospel was the first to be written, there are some differences in the later Gospels: Mark stressed the reality of the coming judgement; Matthew emphasises that the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit as the breaking of divine law; whilst Luke speaks about the ability to publicly confess Christ but deny the Spirit in your heart. Jesus is saying ‘reject me in human form if you want but not the Spirit which you cannot even see‘. The Church over the millennia has used this clause to confuse and create great trauma: ‘don’t speak of it’

The unforgivable sin is a scary thing. It is so scary that in the Summa Theologiae Aquinas devoted a special question with four articles to this form of blasphemy alone. Today virtually every Christian counseling manual contains a chapter on the sin to help counselors deal with patients who are terrified that they have already or might sometime commit this sin.

https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/unforgivable-sin-1164

What it means

The blasphemy of the Holy Spirit relates to the hardness of our hearts, the inability of forgive. That our mind is so made up that we are unprepared to even consider what could be good. The Scribes had made up their mind so much that regardless of what Jesus did, he was wrong, he was rejected, and all others had to reject Jesus as well.

If this has caused you concern over the past – this unforgivable sin – then if it worries you, you have no problem as you are open to consider an alternative way, your heart is not hardened to only one choice.

The Family

Then his mother and his brothers came and they called to him. Jesus responds “Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.” Mark 3:35

This isn’t the abandonment of the family structure (don’t speak of it) but a statement of what it is to be in God’s Kin_dom (note the spelling). It is about a far wider structure of bonds, of accepting people as they are, of welcoming all, of seeing what people are doing – regardless of how others or society see them – and being with them. In the Gospels, Jesus spends 90% of his time “being with” people (Incarnational Ministry, Sam Wells). This is a fanfare announcement that if we are willing to accept such a situation, there is release. Release from the binds that society seeks to impose, as it did back then. Of seeing people as equals, not us and them but as one. The family is still important to us, but our ‘family’ can reach out far wider, for we are all part of God’s Kin_dom.

There’s hope, in what family we have, in our wider ‘family’ and with God, the true Lord – the one who is to be named.

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Cover picture: Coming of God’s Kin_dom, Church Times, Steven Cherry, 26 Feb 21