Families are all a bit crazy! - Right – don’t you think that! I know mine is and I love them all dearly! I am sure we all have stories that we can tell about our families and some of their craziness. But we love them don’t we! We love them in their own uniqueness! In fact, for most of us our families whether by blood, or otherwise are the most important people in our lives!!
I remember getting sage advice when I was much younger, and I am sure each of you have as well, it goes something like this: as we approach the end of our lives we won’t reflect on the work, our status, what house, or what cars we drove. Rather we will reflect on our relationships, our families, our circles of support, our faith!
In this Gospel Jesus is accused of being crazy by the scribes and those close to Him! He returns home with people having heard all wonders he has done, driving out demons, curing the lame, and healing many people. We might ask why Jesus was treated this way, especially by people who loved Him! His family and this community loved Him and had surely heard stories of His healing and other miracles. However, they must have wondered how He a son of a carpenter could do all this? The scribes even confront and accuse Jesus of using the power of Satan to do His works! Jesus responds with not one but two parables about how ridiculous this idea is. Jesus parables describe and illustrate that evil will always produce evil and house or kingdom itself could not endure if it is divided against itself! This is sage wisdom! Further, how can Jesus cleanse a man of his unclean spirit, as he did in Capernaum? This can only be done by overpowering Satan—the ruler of evil.
However, it is understandable that Jesus, by the standards of His day, and likely ours as well, would appear “out of his mind.” He had given up His safe life as a carpenter in Nazareth; and now he was preaching a message that went against society norms and against religious leaders of the day. He had collected a band of sinners and misfits to Himself. Simply put, he was crazy in their minds and had given up the security of a normal existence just to help others! Jesus especially reached out to the most needy, those on margins of society, and central to His mission was for all to hear the Word of God! We are also called to step out of our comfort zone. To question how we think of family, who is family, and what are true family values. We as the family of the baptized are called to reach out and support one another. To invite others into this loving family of God!
But you might ask why toward the end of the Gospel that Jesus’ addresses His mother and “brothers” in the way He does. Is he putting them down or dismissing them? Most certainly not!! Rather Jesus uses this occasion and circumstance to demonstrate and redefine what is truly family. “Who are my mother and my brothers?” he asks. Looking at His circle of disciples and others around him, he says, “For whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.” He call us all to be sister, brother, and mother, we are all called to be a part of the family of Christ!
We gather today in this church because we are indeed family! By our baptism we were given a huge extended family. We gather together to share a meal. To share stories of our faith. We help each other experience God in community. We are called to welcome and care for one another; as family we share a portion of our lives together. A family which gathers at this table of the Lord. A flawed and sinful family, but a family that is missioned a family that is loved! And like the disciples a family that tries to live out God’s mission in our lives.
For myself I experience what it means to be family as we gather and go out to serve the homeless, as we gather and serve a meal to our sisters and brothers who are homeless or in need at RAIHN, Bethany House, and Dimitri House. In our Penfield Hope ministry as we together are able to sit down, talk, and share together with those who come for assistance and we are privileged to enter in a small way, into their journey. Being family is about accompaniment, allowing others to tell and share their stories of pain and triumph! To allow us to share a part of ourselves and the gifts God has given us.
Today an issue that tugs at my heart is the problem of addiction in our world and especially in our community. I am sure that everyone’s family here has been impacted by this problem at least in some way! Did you know that in Fairport, Gates, Greece, Penfield, and Webster have had at least one overdose every month this year? This coming week on Thursday at 7:00PM in our Learning Center we will be hosting a panel on the Opioid Crisis. This panel will help us understand this complex problem, help us know some signs of the signs of addiction, what it feels like as a person impacted by addiction, and what we can do and resources that are available. Please plan on attending this panel on Thursday if you are able!
As we prepare ourselves to receive the Eucharist, let us reflect on what it means to be truly a part of a family united with Christ! What responsibilities do we have? What are we called by God to do? The Gospel calls all to challenge ourselves, to be unafraid and act even if some might call us crazy. We are a family! We all have something to give and just as important something that we can receive from this family! We must ask ourselves who in my life most needs my love, my care, my example of faith. How can we help others to experience the Gospel message of Jesus? Let us as we depart from this church today help portray the message that as a faith community we are family!