Who is My Family Now?

... in the age of Trump

Then he went home; 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.” … Then his mother and his brothers came; and standing outside, they sent to him and called him. A crowd was sitting around him; and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers and sisters are outside, asking for you.” And he replied, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” And looking at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother” (Mark 3:30-34)

In this fractious moment in our nation when so many social, political, and gender lines are becoming blurred, when even definitions of family are being redrawn, perhaps this the question this passage raises is worth considering. And with the many social and political and theological clashes between American Christians today, it seems particularly germane. What might Jesus’ question and the answer he offers to it teach us in this fraught time in our country. More importantly, how can they guide us, even empower us to face this terrible time?

This passage tells us that when Jesus’ mother and siblings heard that he had attracted a large, clamoring crowd they responded with what appears to be alarm. Or perhaps it was just derision or frustration they expressed, as in “that boy ain’t right.” Maybe they considered Jesus an embarrassment to their family’s honor, a serious social offense in that strict culture of honor and shame. Or they could have literally thought him insane.

But there is another possibility, that perhaps their response was meant to defend him against the religious authorities’ charge that he was demon possessed, a much worse accusation than temporary insanity or delusions of grandeur, because demon possession could have grave social consequences. Or their claim that Jesus was insane could have been their panicked response to a realization that his standing at the center of a large unsanctioned gathering in Galilee could be considered an act of sedition, a capital crime, especially given the uprisings against Rome that were then rife in that province.

In any case, it is safe to surmise that the family of Jesus went to that house out of concern, no doubt to fetch him from the activities that were drawing so much attention. But Jesus’ response to their anxious presence seems harsh, almost dismissive, reflecting little interest in them, if not genuine estrangement. Yet was it? For elsewhere the gospels reflect a relationship of closeness and maternal care between mother and son, right up to the moment of his death. We see her expression of anxiety and relief after finding him at the Temple when she thought he was lost (Luke 2:48). Mother and son are together at the wedding in Cana (John 2:1-12). At the cross, even as he writhed in agony, he gave instructions for her care (John 19:26). After her son’s death she was in the Upper Room with his followers, still part of his Gospel mission (Acts 1:14). It is reasonable to expect, if not to conclude, that such a loving presence would have inspired a closely-knit family. Of Jesus’ siblings, we know at least one, James, carried on his brother’s work as a major figure in the post-resurrection Jesus movement. Indeed, a letter to the believing community that is attributed to James is canonized in the New Testament.

So, there is no reason to think that Jesus’s query and his answer to it are dismissive of the significance to him of his biological family. Neither imply any thoughts on his part that they, or biological families in general, are not significant. Rather than dismissing his family as insignificant, instead Jesus’ question transforms their presence into a teaching moment. Admittedly, none of this is hard to see. Nor is it difficult to see that what he meant to impart is that declaring oneself his follower and calling him “Lord” are in no way the true measures of faith in him or his teachings. Yes, Paul does assert, “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9). But Paul is not Jesus. And Jesus never reduced the Gospel to formulaic words and beliefs. Indeed, Jesus directly countered such faulty sentiments long before Paul claimed to have met him with this blunt query to his assembled followers: “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” (Luke 6:46).

In other words, the message of Jesus to those who would follow him is that true kinship with him is fully determined by their actions, their deeds, not by any beliefs they might embrace or espouse, no matter how sincerely. That is made evident in his parable of the sheep and the goats (Matthew 25:31-46), which explains that it is our actions toward others that are the only real evidence of our faith and the only true path to salvation: “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me.’” As the brother of Jesus epitomizes it so eloquently, “faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead” (James 2:17).

What are the works, the deeds, the actions in the world that determine whether we are truly family in the Gospel sense, especially in these fraught times? Too many would have us believe those works consist of constructing more church edifices, expanding denominational reach, increasing personal and ecclesiastical wealth, mounting preaching conference after preaching conference, and building preacher personality cults. Some especially benighted folks, like Paula Cain-White, the prosperity anti-gospel charlatan that is Trump’s senior advisor to the White House Faith Office, would have us believe that the work of the Gospel is literally to elevate Trump to messianic status and to convince the American people that his hateful road to fascist dictatorship is the will of the Lord.

But Jesus says, “Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.” The prophet makes clear what the divine will entails: “[W]hat does the Lord require of you? To do justice and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8). And with full awareness that true justice must entail dedication to the common good, as in “love your neighbor as yourself,” the biblical witness issues this imperative: “Justice, and only justice, you shall pursue so that you may live and occupy the land that the Lord your God is giving you” (Deuteronomy 16:20).

Today our nation stands at the critical nexus of the high road of democracy on the right hand and the death-dealing low road of autocracy and fascism on the left. If our nation’s democracy is to survive, much less long occupy this land, and if we are to be truly worthy of membership in the family of those who strive to do God’s will, we must stand strong, fighting mightily against the present onslaught of evil with faith and love, so justice may rule in this land.