Faith

When hate takes over – Monday, 3rd Week in ordinary time – Mark 3:22-30

Do also find another article on the same Gospel by clicking this link https://www.pottypadre.com/rejection-abounds-monday-3rd-week-in-ordinary-time-mark-322-30/

While great multitudes have been following Jesus, Our Lord has been facing rejection from people of his own home town and among his own relatives. Either out of concern for their own family name or out of genuine concern for Jesus, they come to restrain him (3:21) for they heard people say that “he has gone out of his mind.” Sin

When an acquaintance misunderstands you, the sting is felt but when someone you love dearly, someone close to your heart; a relative or best friend misunderstands you, then that rips your heart out. Much before Our Lord felt the 39 lashes or the nails that tore through his hands and feet, he felt the pain of rejection. In all of this, it is Jesus who is understanding, Jesus who is patient and Jesus who loves. The text of today is a case in point.

We are told that scribes have come down from Jerusalem. They have already had a difference of opinion with Jesus (Mark 2:6). They question his methodology of ministry (2: 16) when he eats with sinners. The scribes would by now be well aware of the Pharisees and the Herodians who had plotted to destroy Jesus. Enemies, make strange bed fellows!

So far, their angst with Jesus was merely a muttering in their heart (2:6) and a clarification sought (2:16) but in today’s Gospel they have given up tiptoeing around egg shells and lay their rancor out in the open, “He has Beelzebub and by the rulers of demons he casts out demons.” (3:22). To read about who Beelzebub is, go to https://www.pottypadre.com/rejection-abounds-monday-3rd-week-in-ordinary-time-mark-322-30/

I have seen this method of hate being employed so often. Shoot any and every accusation, even a bizarre one in the air and hope that something gets shot and dies. Of all the accusations they threw at Jesus, this was by far the most ridiculous. But then again think of those who dislike you immensely; it is they that throw the most ridiculous accusations knowing that popular opinion might get seized up in the moment and fiction becomes truth.

Our Lord could have called brimstone from heaven and burnt his accusers to cinder. Instead, he opens a channel of discussion. He is not negotiating terms of peace so that he may issue some sort of ‘apology’ and fall in line with mainstream rabbinic behaviour; rather he sits down to reason with his detractors. We are told, “he called them to him, and spoke to them in parables.” It is as if Our Lord has taken the level of discussion to the simplest stages of communication rather than throw lofty theology at them and make them feel like novices that rolled out of a small-town synagogue. There is sensitivity in his approach and great love in his communication. This was not a lecture that he gave but a reasoning in the faith.

Yet his teaching, practical and logical, has indeed a caveat. While one is free to express one’s views, the framework of those views must be respectful. One can’t give into any lose talk without the consequences that come with it. Those who hold constitutional posts in our nation or are appointed to high office can be disagreed with but false accusations and name calling can have you spend some rather uncomfortable nights in prison.

Swept away by their personal dislike for our Lord, the scribes have blasphemed against the Holy Spirt. It is the Holy Spirit that dwelt in Our Lord. Hate had blinded the scribes and now forgiveness will be deprived to them forever.

There is a lesson for us in this; when we find ourselves consumed by hate and anger, we simply give vent to words that slip between our lips. Apologies, no matter how sincerely expressed, cannot mend a broken heart.

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Food

Pork Assad
½ Kg Pork
1 inch piece ginger
1 full pod of garlic
½ tea spoon turmeric
½ tea spoon ground pepper
1 inch piece cinnamon
5 cloves
3 Kashmiri chillies

Prick the pork with a fork and pat salt all over it. Grind the ginger and garlic, add turmeric, pepper powder and rub the mixture on the pork. Set this to rest overnight in the fridge.

The next day leave the pork out for about an hour so that it comes down to room temperature. Warm some oil and add in the cinnamon, cloves and red chillies and fry for about half a minute. Then add in the  marinated pork and fry till it is well brown on all sides. Add a one cup of water and allow it to cook with a lid on til the water is dry and the pork tender. You may need to add water if this drys up during the cooking process. This may take as long as an hour depending on the quality of the meat.

When done, saute onion rings or slices in a pan and to this add the cooked meat which you have diced or sliced

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Faith

The tongue has become the instrument of satan – Saturday 2nd Week in ordinary time – Memorial of St Agnes – Mark 3:20-21

Do read also another reflection based on this Gospel text. Please click on the link https://www.pottypadre.com/outside-in/

A tremendous sadness sweeps over you as you read this text. Cheap talk has led people to think that Jesus has taken leave of his senses; “he has gone out of his mind.” Was this text from scripture just a loose way of speaking, a colloquial way of saying “what’s wrong with this man?”

To the world at his time, the choices that Jesus made were bizarre. Jesus was a man with a profession. He was a carpenter’s son. No matter what we may think of a carpenter as a job title today, at the time of Jesus, this was no menial job. There were more than two dozen trades prevalent in Biblical times and carpenters and stonemasons were ranked high in demand. Why would Jesus leave it all to become a wandering Rabbi? Surely this was a ‘crazy’ decision.

But if this raised eyebrows then the fact that Jesus was on the hit list of just about every religious group including his own cousins’ disciples seemed to be a justifiable reason to pack shop and go home. We know from Mark chapter 2 and from the texts that will follow, every religious group had knives drawn out against Jesus. Mark 3:6 declares emphatically that the Pharisees and the Herodians conspired against him, formulating a plan to destroy him. To carry on when every powerful agency is against you is nothing short of madness.

In our own nation, Fr Stan Swamy was that ‘mad man’ who must have been advised by many a well-meaning friend to ‘back off’ even a little bit. Fr Stan was the ‘mad man’ who was finally incarcerated in an Mumbai prison, deprived even of a sipper and finally died; a victim of the gross misuse of state machinery to silence the voices that speak up for the marginalized.

Sadly, Our Lord was not just considered mad by the masses but was misunderstood by his own family. We are told in verse 20 that he has come home. As a son of the soil there should have been ‘hoorah’ for this wonder working Rabbi, yet his actions were misunderstood. He was so busy in ministry that sitting down to a meal had become impossible. There is concern from his family for they see how tired he is but the gossip that could be heard from the paper-thin walls had not eluded them. He was being called mad and that would hurt the ego of the members of his family. To them it would be better to nip such talk in the bud by restraining Jesus.

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Faith

Then Jesus went home – Friday, 2nd Week in ordinary time – Mark 3:13-19

Do also read this article based on today’s Gospel text. Click on this link https://www.pottypadre.com/followers-or-disciples/

When Jesus chose his twelve, Jesus was at a critical point in his ministry. He had offended the traditions of the religious leadership, and they plotted his destruction. Responding to the opposition, He spent a whole night in prayer (Luke 6:12) and chose 12 disciples. Here is a point of reflection for us all; before we make any major decision in life, we need to spend some serious time talking to God about it. Seek His wisdom and His will about what you are going to do. Never be in a hurry when it comes to life changing decisions.

We are told that Jesus goes up a mountain. Mountains in the Scriptures are holy places associated with the presence of God. Sometimes named, at other times not named, “the mountain” is the location for events of great significance in salvation history, for example, the giving of the Law to Moses on Sinai, the Sermon on the Mount, and the Transfiguration on Tabor.

Jesus’ choice of twelve apostles places them in continuity with the twelve tribes of Israel. The apostles are to be the foundation stones of the Church, the New Israel. Jesus did not choose people because of what they were. He chose them for what they could become under his direction and power. Our problem with following Jesus is we are trying to be a better version of us rather than a more accurate reflection of Him.

While there is no call without a corresponding mission it is interesting to note that the initiative is wholly that of Jesus. He summoned “those whom he wanted”. They were “to be with him” as disciples and friends “to be sent out to proclaim the message” and to preach as Jesus himself did “with authority to cast out demons.”

Within this calling, the Lord’s sovereignty is written all over it. He is in control of their calling. Look carefully at the language Mark uses to describe their calling: Jesus “called out” these men, Jesus “appointed” these men, Jesus gives them the title of “apostles,” Jesus would “send” them out to preach, and Jesus would give them “authority to cast out demons.” You cannot ignore the strategic, intentional, and divine nature of this calling. The same is true of us. God has called us, equipped us, and is sending us to accomplish important missions for Him and His kingdom.

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Faith

Heartfelt or Hateful ? Thursday, 2nd week in ordinary time – Mark 3:7-12

Read also this article I wrote some time ago based on this Gospel text. you can do that by clicking this link https://www.pottypadre.com/speaking-truth-to-power/

Jesus was clearly not wanted and that was putting it mildly! The preceding verse tells us that the Pharisees went out and immediately conspired with the Herodians against him; how to destroy him. There are way too many unnerving words strung up in one sentence; conspired, against and destroy. What if these words were used against us? What if two very influential groups of people were ‘conspiring’ against us? what if they were ‘against us’ and wish to ‘destroy’ us? How would that leave us feeling? What would be our response?

The Gospel of today begins by telling us Jesus’ reaction to such hate; he just moved on. He departs from the synagogue in Capernaum and moves to the harp shaped lake of Galilee. Ironically, the Gospels tell us that while the Pharisees had brick bats ready to throw, the ‘multitudes’ greeted him with bouquets. In three chapters that we have covered of the Gospel of Mark, it has become quite clear that Jesus had become more than just a Galilean sensation; he was now quite the national talk. Scripture tells us that multitudes from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, which is beyond the Jordan and people from the regions of Tyre and Sidon had all flocked to listen to him.

While a modern mind would simply attribute such popularity to the several sensational miracles that Jesus performed, the Gospel have been diligent to record from the get-go that it was his teaching with authority that drew people to him. The Gospel of Mark has not watered down for a minute the teaching ministry of Jesus (1:21, 1:38,1:39, 1:45, 2:2, 2:13). While healers may well have their ministry, it is the hunger for the word of God that sustains the faith of the believer. You may seek a flash in a pan but that’s all you will get!

The Gospel of today has a lesson for us to learn. In the face of such opposition from powerful forces and with hate words like conspiracy and destroy stacked up against us, many would feel compelled to give up the work or ministry we were involved in. Besides the many faith-learnings that Our Lord imparts, his life lessons are equally inspiring. He did not give up his ministry because he faced opposition. He simply moved from the village to the lake. Opposition to ministry is bound to come and while some powerful people may want us out of the way many would be grateful for what you bring to the table.

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