Catholic Insights

Some people find it troubling to think that Jesus’ family didn’t understand who he was or what he had come to do. Mark tells us bluntly that his relatives tried to reign him in because they thought he was “out of his mind.” “Why would they have thought that?” we might wonder. Wasn’t Jesus full of compassion and patience? Wasn’t he healing people and feeding thousands? Wasn’t he teaching people about God’s love? How is that being “out of his mind”? Yes, he was doing all those things, but he was also riling up the religious leaders and accusing them of abusing their positions of authority. He was threatening the Roman rule by attracting crowds who identified him, not Caesar, as the Son of God. He was even dissuading tax collectors from collecting tax money that the Jews owed to the Romans (Mk 2:13-14)! His courageous and direct speeches and teachings were creating general unrest and disturbance on many levels of society. Jesus’ family would have realized that such a challenging stance before the people in power could get him killed.

Just think of Martin Luther King, Jr., Mahatma Gandhi or Oscar Romero for more contemporary examples of prophetic leaders whose outspoken words led to their deaths. This reading is in chapter three of Mark’s gospel, and already the Pharisees have begun plotting to kill Jesus. Would you be able to stand by and watch if your relative was doing and saying things in public that endangered him? Wouldn’t you want to stop him too?

Things to talk about:

• Jesus makes a controversial declaration about what it means to be part of a family. What is your response to Jesus’ statement that “whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother?”
• Jesus wants us to understand that by doing God’s will, we are part of a bigger family. Choosing to follow Jesus, being his disciple, means we must treat one another with kindness and mercy. We must become a family. In what way could you widen the circle of your family to include someone in need?

Things to do:

• Ask God to bless your family and to help you do God’s will by seeing all his people with the same kind of love and compassion. 
• Young children: click to print and complete the “Family That Prays Together” Coloring Page.
• Elementary age and older children, print and complete “The Kids Bulletin”. Read Psalm 130 to help you with the crossword puzzle.
• Individuals and Families: Do Something to live out your role as members of Jesus’ family:…Click to learn about the seven spiritual works of mercy. Pick one of the spiritual works of mercy to focus on, and try to live it out this week.

Closing Prayer

Name those who need our prayers.

Click the image below to take a quick 3-Minute Prayer Retreat to celebrate Life in Community.

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