Friends
Peace be with you.
If you’ve ever seen the movie “Dead Poets Society”, you may remember a scene in which Mr. Keating, played by the incredible actor Robin Williams, talks to how students about how we tend to view Shakespeare’s plays as though they were written to be very one dimensional, very serious, and very boring. He asks what it would be like if Marlon Brando or John Wayne did Shakespeare as he perfectly imitates their voices as only he could do. Then he performs a comedic scene from Shakespeare while the boys in his class laugh along to each joke. It was one of those moments that teachers dream about when an entire class gets it.
I suspect sometimes we have the same problem with Sacred Scripture. We tend to think that the Word of God is meant to be entirely serious and entirely boring. However, I suspect that there are two uses of sarcasm in today’s Gospel and, even though we probably aren’t going to laugh out loud at either one, I think it’s good to understand them. The first has to do with who it was that thought Jesus was possessed by demons. I have no doubt that some members of Jesus’ family thought he was demon possessed. We only know of one relative, James the lesser, who was one of his followers. What do you think the rest of his family thought of him? As a person who is fairly religious, I can tell you that some members of my family think I’m crazy. Especially if they have walked away from practicing the faith, they can’t understand why I would be a priest in this time of abuse. I can only imagine how difficult it would be to say to your cousin that you believe you’re the messiah, although in Jesus’ case his cousin was John the Baptist so maybe that’s a bad example. We know that, when Jesus went to Nazareth, the people there tried to throw him off a cliff to kill him. Some of them were his family members. I think the joke happens when, instead of naming the relatives who thought Jesus was possessed, St. Mark says Mary and Jesus’ brothers are the ones who show up. They aren’t the trouble makers. They’re the ones who do the will of God. It’s the old switcheroo.
The other humorous moment we probably don’t hear correctly is when Jesus asks “How can Satan drive out Satan?...if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand; that is the end of him.” The Philosopher Rene Girard wrote in his book I See Satan Fall Like Lightening that Jesus is showing how divisive that Satan is. Look, for instance, at the first reading from Genesis Chapter 3. Satan’s actions cause division between Adam and Eve in that they each blame each other for eating the fruit. But, in some ways, the most depressing division happens right at the beginning of this passage when God asks “Where are you?” He can’t see them because they are hiding. Satan separates. He uses shame to make us hide from each other and from God.
The good news however is that, while Satan divides to conquer, Jesus unites us as his body. And, as Rene Girard said, Satan cannot stand. He has already lost, he’s just trying to convince other people to join the losing team, not out of solidarity but so others can be as miserable as he is. Jesus, on the other hand, wants to unite us to the very heart of his life, to his family. He invites us to be his Mother and his brothers and sisters. I’m comfortable being Jesus’ brother. I’ll spend time with Jesus in adoration. I’ll read the Bible to learn about his life. When I’m riding my bike or jogging, I’ll be conscious of the fact that he’s there with me. But how could he invite any of us to be…his mother? See why I think this is meant to have a little humor in it? But, when we act as a Godparent for a baby, committing to help that child grow in faith, aren’t we kind of like Mary? When we talk to others about our own faith and how God has made a saving impact on our life, aren’t we bringing Jesus into this world like Mary did?
If we are to be Jesus’ brothers and sisters and, yes, even his mother, how can we help unite people to his body and not divide them?
