Saturday, January 22, 2011

The people were saying of Jesus, 'He is beside himself'

Mark 3:19b, 20-21

Then he went home; and the crowd came together again, so that they could not even eat. And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for people were saying, "He is beside himself."

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Is the Lord Jesus honored in your home? Why would Jesus' relatives be so upset with him when he began his public ministry? On one occasion Jesus remarked that a man's enemies will be the members of his own household. The Gospel of Mark records the reaction of Jesus' relatives when he went home: they came to seize him. They, no doubt, thought that Jesus must have gone mad or become a religious fanatic. How could a good home-body from Nazareth leave his carpentry trade and go off to become an itinerant preacher? Jesus had thrown away the security and safety of a quiet and respectable life close to his family and relatives. He probably expected some opposition or reaction from the highest religious authorities in Jerusalem. The hardest opposition, however, may come from someone close to us, even your own kin. Jesus met opposition with grace and with determination to fulfill his Father's will. Are you ready to obey and follow the Lord even if others oppose your doing so?

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"Lord Jesus, may I always put you first and find joy in doing your will. May your love and charity grow in me, especially in the face of opposition and adversity."

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