As we return to Ordinary Time, we begin by entering into a very challenging point in Jesus’ ministry when not only the Scribes but even some members of his own family are wondering about his motives.
The set-up to the Gospel in the First Reading is from the Book of Genesis. Adam and Eve have eaten of the forbidden fruit and are now, in their shame, explaining to the Lord what has happened. Adam passes blame to her, and she passes blame to the serpent.
In a sense, the Readings draw our attention to the devil, imagined as the serpent in Genesis, and called “Beelzebul.” The conflict between the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Satan is a significant motif in Mark’s Gospel, and reaches here a significant point of reflection.
Those who misunderstood Jesus, or certainly those who would choose not to understand Jesus, found it easy to attribute to Satan the works that Jesus did. When the teaching of Jesus stood outside of the acceptable mainstream he was ridiculed and ultimately condemned to the cross, for his teaching. By claiming that his works were from the evil one who was attempting to deceive those who would follow him made it easy to not have to engage with him. Condemn They accuse Jesus of doing the works of Satan when Mark has already told us that the Holy Spirit has descended upon Jesus and the Father has pronounced Jesus as his Son.
Jesus makes a very difficult pronouncement in response to accusations against him: “But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an everlasting sin.”
This “everlasting sin” has been a matter of debate and misunderstanding for much of the history of the church. Essentially the sin is where one denies the work of God, or assigns to Satan the work of God.
We ought not to see in the reading from Genesis and from the Gospel any strong parallels, except to know that Satan deceives us into misunderstanding and misinterpreting God.
Just as the serpent tricked the woman into eating the forbidden fruit, so can we be easily fooled by Satan into seeing evil instead of the good. As with all sin our judgment must be made in full knowledge and competency, making this a sin almost impossible for a person to make. While we might, in our frustration or in an act of despair, accuse God of raining some evil upon us, or wonder why this or that bad thing happened in our lives, such would not ordinarily reach this level of sin.
Here, learned scholars, those who should know better and who should be open to the work of God in the world, see God at work and reject his work and his presence.
There are such forces still at work in the world. There are those who choose to deny that God can continue to act in and through the Church, for example, or those who would dismiss and reject the possibility of the miraculous from happening, not only in our times, but even in times past.
Jesus calls us to be open to the work of the Spirit in the world. He also calls us to careful and prayerful discernment the work of the Spirit. We are always best when we know not to do this on our own, but rather to act in prayer and in communion with the Church.
Father Garry Koch is pastor of St. Benedict Parish, Holmdel.