Mind

"He's out of his mind," Mark 3:21.

Who's saying this? his own family. Whose family? Jesus' own. What family did Jesus have? Mark's gospel says he had brothers and sisters, among them were James, Joses, Judas, Simon. And his mother, Mary, of course. So what're they saying? That Jesus is out of his mind. That he's beside himself. Goodness! What happened to draw them to this conclusion? Well, he had been preaching, healing people. He had chosen 12 fellows to train in his teachings. Crowds crushed around him so that he didn't even have time to eat. And Bible scholars had begun saying Jesus was possessed by the devil. So his family came to take him away. Jesus, embarrassment to them all.

With a brother or sister today, not embarrassed by Jesus, we will confess him whatever the world may say. And, together, we thank God that, in his right mind, Jesus chose to call us his own. Yes, even us.