…and the crowd came together again, so that they could not even eat. When his family heard it, they went out to restrain him, for people were saying, “He has gone out of his mind.” And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, “He has Beelzebul, and by the ruler of the demons he casts out demons.”- Mark 3:20-22

Everyone thought that Jesus was out of control. His relatives wanted the old Jesus back, their simple carpenter relative. It seems like even the virgin Mother wasn’t sure what was going on with Jesus. Maybe she did not like things to change too fast. The spiritual authorities wanted things to remain as they were. For them, any change was perceived as diabolical especially when it didn’t benefit them. Many obviously were happy for these new things. New doors were opened to them. They were no longer outsiders. They were considered part of a greater family as long as they kept their eyes focused on God. The presence of Jesus divided the people. There were two groups.

Nothing has really changed.

“The whole modern world has divided itself into Conservatives and Progressives. The business of Progressives is to go on making mistakes. The business of Conservatives is to prevent mistakes from being corrected.”- G.K. Chesterton

This is not a post on politics but it is about changes.

Changes, especially genuine ones, require us to modify how we relate to each other and the authorities. I believe that this is the essence of the gospel text above. It starts off by showing us that the changes that Jesus brought about were incompatible with the ideas of his own family. Total strangers were invading His household seeking healing and comfort. He was upsetting the natural order of families. He did not destroy the traditional family. He expanded the concept to include anyone who wants to do God’s will. His own family did not like the new idea. The religious authorities were completely outside of these new developments. The people did not need them anymore. This was not acceptable. Therefore, they believed that Jesus was the devil. After all, they were God’s chosen ones and since none of these changes were beneficial for them, they concluded that they must be from the devil.

We tend to think that we are living in a time of radical changes. The reality is that it has always been like this. Every age has to deal with changes, good or bad. It is a common practice for people to stand for or against changes on a personal basis. However, this is not an option for us as Christians.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, that the living God is active and present in this world through His Holy Spirit. Therefore we need to listen to the Spirit’s voice. However, we won’t be able to hear the still silent voice of God if we inundate our lives with noises blaring all out differing opinions about these changes. These are ideas based on human wisdom and are incompatible with our vocation. Changes should not be the focus of our meditation but instead we should reflect on what the Spirit is doing in our midst. However, many act as if God is completely absent or mute. As Christians, if we deliberately choose to ignore God’s voice or worse, put our thoughts and opinions in His mouth, then we might be blaspheming against the Spirit.

Truly I tell you, people will be forgiven for their sins and whatever blasphemies they utter; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin— for they had said, “He has an unclean spirit.” – Mark 3:28-29

These are harsh words. Most importantly, they are directed to Christians because we are the only ones aware that God’s Spirit is present in our midst. The world does not understand the presence of the Holy Spirit whereas we cannot be Christians unless we sense the Spirit working in our hearts. Consequently, we are the only ones who can truly reject or blaspheme against the Holy Spirt by consciously ignoring Him. It is blasphemous to act as if God does not exist or is even powerless to act in this whirlpool of changes that is happening around us. It is incumbent on us to listen to what the Holy Spirit is doing. If not, we might confuse our opinions as divine mandate and this only leads us to a dangerous path of despair.

Everyday we start our time with the children and teens with a prayer. We pray in the same spot. It takes us a good twenty minutes to walk from our home to this place. Our journey there is filled with conversations about the current political situations and problems of the world. Just like anyone else, we have opinions and political convictions. However, once we pray and engage the children and teens, the real world takes control. It is the world that the Holy Spirit is constructing in our midst. All the latest political debates become irrelevant. We forget their existence completely because they have no bearing on what the Holy Spirit is doing.

We saw Danyel by himself. We asked him if he wanted to visit a museum nearby. He smiled and quickly changed his shirt. Unfortunately he changed into one that was worse than the one he wore. However, in his mind, this was his best t-shirt. It was a museum about the history of the city. It did not take us long to go through it. We decided to have a cup of coffee and hot chocolate for Danyel. I asked him if he liked his beverage. He said, “I liked everything. Everything was wonderful.” He asked if we could take him to a library one day. He has never been to a library. The next day, he ran up to us and gave us a big hug. We were a family when we went to the museum that day and Danyel loved it. In many ways, we loved it as well. This is the change God is doing in our midst. He is bringing love into our souls, the kind of love that we never knew that was possible. In a world where changes are tainted with hatred and violence, God is constructing a family founded on the love that heals and restores. God is building a family within our souls. Danyel is our son and we are his parents. However, the world will never understand this. However, those who listen to the Holy Spirit will understand. The change that God is bringing into this world is one that builds and reconciles. It is an eternal change. Those who want to hold on to the methods and values of this world have to, by default, reject what God is doing.

Changes come and go but the things God is doing in our midst are for eternity.