Welcoming the Holy
Here we invite you to take time for yourself in personal prayer. The following spiritual reflection offers words and images which we hope will evoke for you an experience of God.
By: Sister Karen Dietz
Opening Prayer
I trust in God, my soul trusts God’s word. For with God is kindness and the fullness of mercy. Amen.
Reading
Mark 3: 20 – 35
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 then. 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
Can you believe the political back and forth between presumptive presidential candidates is starting already? Watching the news each evening can be like watching a wrestling match, with one side working hard to pin and even disable the other. The division that is fostered by witnessing these diatribes is something I find disheartening and exhausting. Jesus’ message to us this week certainly speaks to this when he says: “If a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.” I am understanding this message so much more deeply at this time in our history.
How do we pray with this message in 2024? What comes to my heart is the important distinction between disagreement and division. Can you disagree with another and not be completely divided or cut off from that person or group? Jesus makes this statement to respond to the disciples’ query about who has the power to drive out demons and who is truly “family” to him. It seems to me that Jesus is widening the scope of what it means to be a disciple and enlarging the circle of influence in favor of inclusivity. For Jesus, I believe it is more important to include than to judge.
We are just beginning Pride month and throughout our country there will be celebrations of the many hues and expressions of what it means to be human. There will also be those who judge those who are not like them, labeling them as suspect and even evil. There are areas of our world in the middle of devastating wars fueled by division and fear. And at our country’s borders, we choose fear and suspicion of the stranger over welcoming and embracing the neighbor.
In one of St. Paul’s letters to the Corinthians we are reminded that there are many, many gifts all given for the sake of the one body. These gifts are different, and each is essential in and of itself. As believers, we are encouraged to celebrate these gifts and the richness each brings to the whole. I pray we remember Jesus’ message and focus on the benefits of our differences, celebrating with joy rather than judging to the point of causing irreparable divisions.
Closing Prayer
Generous God, you have gifted us with the whole of creation. Today open my eyes to these gifts and all they offer our world aching for wholeness and healing. Help me be the person you have created me to be choosing inclusion over exclusion, celebration over fear, and unity over isolation. Amen.
