Hello my friends,

Today is a rather special newsletter as I was just able to launch my podcast! So today, I want to feature the same topic my first podcast episode focused on, which shares the same name. My plan is to have the newsletter and podcast focus on different topics more often than not and help fulfill different needs you all have expressed, but with the first episode being launched today, I wanted to have them reflect each other!

So, you can find my podcast called, "Into The Gray" on Apple, Spotify, and Audible. The purpose of this podcast is to reflect on a passage of scripture each week and see how it might help us think through the challenging times we are currently facing. With this being the first episode, I would love any feedback you might have after listening to it yourself. If you felt positively about it, consider leaving a positive review, which will help others find it as well.

A sincere thanks to all of you who supported this project and helped me get it off the ground! I really couldn't have done it without you.

Before we get to today's content, here are a few links to consider checking out this week:

​-The Future of Sustainability: Repair, repurpose, reimagine by Ted Radio Hour. This episode was very inspiring to me. So many creative people talking about how to reimagine certain products and how we acquire them. The most thought provoking part of this episode for me was technologist Jamie Beard talking about how to repurpose the oil drilling industry for geo-thermal energy. Blew my mind. I hope you find it inspiring as well.

-Honoring the Journey by Leslie Nease. I was recently interviewed on Leslie's podcast and it was such a powerful conversation. Leslie is a former Christian Radio Host, Speaker & Writer and Contestant on SURVIVOR China known as "Sister Christian." Her authenticity just came through the interview and we were able to talk about some really important things regarding our faith journeys. Our episode together comes out on Monday, so be sure to catch it if you can.

Okay, onto today's content.

A House Divided

For our time together today, I want to look at Mark 3:20-35.

This passage contains that often discussed “unforgivable sin” of blaspheming the Holy Spirit as well as that famous line from Jesus “a house divided against itself cannot stand."

Both of these are said in the context of Jesus’ family trying to restrain him because people were saying he had gone insane and the scribes were saying he was controlled by the devil.

I think this passage has significant implications for us today. We are in a time where many of us have significant tensions with family, friends, and even strangers online. People who claim to follow Jesus with us may have also called us insane or “of the devil" for one reason or another. So I think the way Jesus responds to all this in our passage today will help us respond to others in our similar circumstances as well.

So let’s read Mark 3:20-35.

Jesus Accused by His Family and by Teachers of the Law

20 Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat. 21 When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.”

22 And the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem said, “He is possessed by Beelzebul! By the prince of demons he is driving out demons.”

23 So Jesus called them over to him and began to speak to them in parables: “How can Satan drive out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26 And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come. 27 In fact, no one can enter a strong man’s house without first tying him up. Then he can plunder the strong man’s house. 28 Truly I tell you, people can be forgiven all their sins and every slander they utter, 29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin.”

30 He said this because they were saying, “He has an impure spirit.”

31 Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. 32 A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, “Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you.”

33 “Who are my mother and my brothers?” he asked.

34 Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”

One of the things I love about this passage is how Jesus responds to conflict.

People have been calling him insane and claiming he is being controlled by the devil, yet he doesn’t get upset or retaliate. Rather, verse 23 says that Jesus called them over to him and began to speak to them in parables.

He not only invites them to be closer to him, but he speaks to them in parables.

This makes me think about the phrase, “you can’t hate up close.” Where if you really knew a person, if you really intentionally saw their heart, any hate you had for them would begin to melt.

So instead of distancing himself from those who were talking badly about him, he does what feels counter intuitive and invites them in close.

Then, once the physical distance between them has shrunk, he starts to close the cognitive distance between them too. He begins to speak to them in parables.

I like the Hebrew word for parable, which is meshalîm, which means “shadowy" or "dark sayings.”​

Parables are narrative driven explanations of things that invite us to contemplate a reality that is deeper than black and white, either/or categories.

Parables invite us into the gray areas of life and compel us to seek out the deeper meaning of things.

Now, if you start responding with parables when people are arguing with you online, they might get even more frustrated with you, but I think the heart behind this tactic is just as relevant to us today.

Whenever we can humanize each other, listen to each other, and bridge the distance between each other, that’s when we can really make progress together.

The heart behind parables has this in mind. They essentially express that there is a mutual understanding we can all gather around, if we are willing to go deep enough together.

“He is possessed by Beelzebul!"

The claim the scribes brought against Jesus was that he was using the power of the devil to drive out demons because he had control over the demons.

So here, Jesus uses another parable to look at the logic of the scribes claim, that he is of the devil.

Jesus says, “How can Satan drive out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26 And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come.

Essentially, Jesus is saying, “if I were of satan, why would I work against satan?”

By doing this, Jesus puts his accusers in an awkward spot. If they reject this description of Jesus, they are rejecting the premise of their own accusation. If they accept Jesus’ description, they end up agreeing with Jesus, which is what they don’t want to do.

We don’t hear any resolve to this conflict here. It just seems that Jesus leaves them in that awkward spot to decide for themselves what to do.

I think this is a really great lesson for us today. In arguments, the goal shouldn’t be to be right and prove the other person wrong. The goal should be to invite deeper understanding, even if the conversation ends in that invitation to go deeper rather than a nice clean resolve. Understanding should be our goal rather than "winning."

"Unforgivable sin."

It is in the context of this parable that Jesus says that famous line about the unforgivable sin. Unfortunately neither Mark nor Jesus explains why blaspheming the Holy Spirit is an “unforgivable sin.” After all, it is part of the parable. It is shadowy and murky.

Again, I think the goal here is to have us think deeper about it, rather than give us a clear, clean cut answer.

In all my studies on this, I have felt the most comfortable saying that this sin is unforgivable because it demonizes the source of forgiveness itself.

Saying Jesus is of the devil is like saying medicine will kill you rather than help you. We would stop going to our doctor if we started believing that they were a serial killer rather than a physician. Once we have demonized the source of help, we run away from help itself.

Often I think we assume that Jesus saying this is an unforgivable sin means God would refuse to forgive those who commit it. But I think Jesus is saying here that it is about someone refusing to be forgiven because they have demonized the healer.

I think this really helps us to ponder how we navigate our perspectives of others. Have we so demonized another person or group of people that we refuse to allow any reconciliation to happen between us and them, no matter how hard they may want to reconcile with us?

Something important to consider for sure.

Our passage ends with Jesus redefining one of the most central social structures: family.

While his biological family tried to stop him because they thought he was out of his mind, we see him point to those seated around him, listening to him as his true family (verses 31-35).

Family for Jesus, it would seem, is defined not by blood but by those who choose to do God’s will.

As you see when you read through Mark’s gospel, Jesus pursuit of God’s will looked like opposing powers of oppression, both demonic and earthly, on behalf of the poor and most vulnerable.

Jesus indicating here that those he considers his family are the ones who go and do likewise.

I also want to point out something small but profound here.

Notice how in verse 32 the crowd says, “your mother and brothers are outside looking for you.” Then in verse 35, Jesus says, “whoever does God’s will is my brother and sisters and mother.”

Jesus adding "sister" here in his answer is small, but noticeable. As those seated in the circle around a rabbi like Jesus were seated in the posture of students and disciples.

We all know how language matters and I think Jesus intentionally adding the word sister here matters in more ways than one.

This entire passage causes me to reflect on division in our nation today. I haven’t encountered a single person in the circles I run in who hasn’t experienced tension or division with family, friends, or someone they admire. This can happen within the church just as much as it happens in our world.

These divisions are so painful and sometimes leave lasting wounds.

But I think Jesus gives us a helpful model here.

He first challenges us to try to bridge the physical and cognitive distance between us and those who are against us in order to melt the kind of hate that can only be sustained from far away.

He then challenges us to not respond reactively but creatively, like through a parable, inviting all who hear it to ponder issues more deeply and constructively.

He then challenges us to seek out those relationships that are bound together with you in the common cause of pursuing humility, understanding, compassion, and justice, and all the other profound attributes of God’s will.

I don’t know about you, but I can often feel ashamed for preferring to spend my time with those who share the common desire for compassion and curiosity as I do.

I often feel like I’m supposed to prioritize the people who don’t respect me out of some hope to possibly bring reconciliation.

I’m a recovering people pleaser though and you may not be, but I think the lesson is the same for us all. Some people are simply not healthy for us to be around and it is okay to be honest about that. We can trust that God loves them deeper than we ever could and put good healthy boundaries in place too.

Jesus prioritized his time to spend with those who were seeking to make a tangible positive change in the world and even called them "family." While it is important to try to win people over to that work, like through a good parable, it is equally important to not allow those who will never respect you or your work to monopolize your time, no matter who they are.

What we see from Jesus here is an encouragement to not only seek out the healing and transformation from the holy spirit, but from each other as well, in whom the spirit dwells.

I want to thank you for spending this time with me today. I hope you found something helpful along the way and that you’ll join me again next week.

If you’ll permit me, I’d love to send you off with a blessing.

My friend, as you go throughout this week, remember that you are created in God’s image and are worthy of being loved and cared for deeply. Let nothing speak against your immense value and let your words highlight the immense value in others. Go in the name of Jesus.