Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Reading I: Genesis 3:9-15
Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 130:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8
Reading II: 2 Corinthians 4:13—5:1
Gospel: Mark 3:20-35
We now focus our reflections on the Gospel of Mark as we enter into the Ordinary Season in our Liturgical Calendar. Compared to the other gospel writers, Matthew, Luke and John, the gospel of St Mark is considered by the scholars as the bluntest of the Gospels. There is no theological sophistication like that of St John. He does not have the poetry and the literary style of St Luke and Matthew. All you find in the gospel of Mark is the raw and unadorned narration of the events in Jesus’ life. This is evident in today’s gospel regarding Jesus’ relatives, finding Him too much to bear. They remarked, “He is out of his mind.” Mark did not even make an attempt to explain or at least soften or make rationalization for the surprising reaction of Jesus’ relatives. We must remember that the gospel of Mark is the shortest of all the gospels and it is focused primarily to describe that Jesus is truly the Son of God.
We always thought that the last bastion of support that you and I expect would be our family. But it was not the case with Jesus. Can you imagine having your own family turn against you? Your own relatives calling you “mad.”? It would have required a strong inner life on the part of Jesus to be able to withstand such external turmoil. I believe that it is just what Mark wanted us to appreciate about Jesus, “to do the will of the Father.”
Efren Tomas
In 2004, Father Efren arrived on Maui, Hawaii to be the Pastor of Christ The King Catholic Church in Kahului, Maui until 2012. He calls Christ The King his home because this was his first parish in Hawaii.
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