When his relatives heard of this they set out to seize him,
for they said, "He is out of his mind."
The scribes who had come from Jerusalem said,
"He is possessed by Beelzebul,"
and "By the prince of demons he drives out demons."
Summoning them, he began to speak to them in parables,
"How can Satan drive out Satan?
If a kingdom is divided against itself,
that kingdom cannot stand.
And if a house is divided against itself,
that house will not be able to stand.
And if Satan has risen up against himself
and is divided, he cannot stand;
that is the end of him.
But no one can enter a strong man's house to plunder his property
unless he first ties up the strong man.
Then he can plunder the house.
Amen, I say to you,
all sins and all blasphemies that people utter will be
forgiven them.
But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit
will never have forgiveness,
but is guilty of an everlasting sin."
For they had said, "He has an unclean spirit."
His mother and his brothers arrived.
Standing outside they sent word to him and called him.
A crowd seated around him told him,
"Your mother and your brothers and your sisters
are outside asking for you."
But he said to them in reply,
"Who are my mother and my brothers?"
And looking around at those seated in the circle he said,
"Here are my mother and my brothers.
For whoever does the will of God
is my brother and sister and mother."
REFLECTION
The scribes who had come from Jerusalem said, "He is possessed by Beelzebul," and "By the prince of demons he drives out demons."
Throughout the Gospels we keep reading how the scribes and pharisees did not believe in Jesus. They conspired against Him.
I've found myself more than once wondering how could they do this? Didn't they see the good He was doing?
Then again, hindsight is 20/20.
We, in today's society, love to think we would be the disciples following Jesus everywhere. No questions asked. Or that we would be at the foot of the Cross not being afraid to "be next" to be persecuted and crucified.
Or would we?
Seems to me scribes and pharisees were just thinking of themselves. Maybe they were afraid of losing prestige in their social and religious circles. In a similar situation, back then or today, if our minds and hearts are not aligned with God's will, we would also be more worried about our place in society, and even at Church, than what God really wants from us.
I love how in the images of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, He is shown pointing at His Heart. Makes me think that He just needs me to gaze at Him, at His love, and have faith to take the plunge and follow and trust Him, and do His will.
It's when I take my eyes away from Him that I start grumbling and complaining about life, and the many little things that bother me. Thus, with the little faith I might have I try to follow Him. Otherwise I am just as bad or worse as the scribes and pharisees.
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