10TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (YEAR B)

1st Reading               Genesis 3:9-15

Psalm                          130: 1-2. 3-4. 5-7a. 7b-8 (R. 7b) 

R//: With the Lord there is mercy, in him is plentiful redemption

2nd Reading             2 Cor. 4:13-5:1

Gospel                        Mark 3: 20- 35.

GUARD YOUR MIND FROM EVIL

Today is the 2nd Sunday in June. We should first recall that June is the Month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. This Solemnity was celebrated on Friday. However, as we are in June, there is something about the Sacred Heart that can help our reflection this Sunday. If we are to tell a Jew about the phrase "Sacred Heart of Jesus", I believe, he will first draw out his cultural meaning of "Heart" before considering the sacredness of the Heart of a man named Jesus. For Jews, the Heart is the Mind. The Heart (Heb.: Leb) is the seat of wisdom, understanding, and discernment. It is the centre of a person's being, where all things converge, including emotions.

Isaiah 6:10 says, "...understand with their heart...". We do not understand with the heart that pumps blood because that Heart does not think or reason. Therefore, a Heart, for a Jew, is more than an organ that pumps blood and refers to the Mind which is the seat of decision-making, planning, discernment, and judgement. "Sacred Heart" could mean, for a Jew, the Holiness of one's thoughts, and emotions, ability to discern between good and evil, and whether these thoughts align with Divine will because he thinks that the heart is the same as the mind. "Sacred Heart of Jesus", with the concept of the Jewish concept of the Heart being the Mind and the centre of planning, judgement, and emotions, will be the holiness and distinctiveness of how Jesus feels, especially for others. This feeling is borne out of Jesus' concern for the salvation and redemption of each one of us. For this reason, the Sacred Heart of Jesus reminds us each day that God thinks about us always and has a plan for us in whatever situations we find ourselves. 

Whenever distressed and downhearted, look at the image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and be reminded that God has a plan for you because you are a product of His thought.

Today is also the 10th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B). In talking about the mind, I would like us to consider the theme "guard your mind from evil". As we already established the Jewish and Old Testament Heart-Mind relationship, we understand that the mind/heart stands as the place where decisions are made, both evil and good. 

The theme can be seen in the Gospel passage (Mark. 3: 20-35). The Gospel according to Mark has 16 chapters, and as early as chapter 3, during Jesus' public ministry, something strange is happening. Jesus goes Home, particularly to Capernaum (Mark. 2:1). He goes to his own people. It is expected that they give him a warm welcome, but they shocked him. They accused him of two things. First, "he is beside himself" or "he is out of his mind" (Mk. 3: 21). Second, "he is possessed by Beelzebul" (Mk. 3: 22). Interestingly, while those at home, who were supposed to give him a warm welcome, said, "he is out of his mind", the scribes who came down from Jerusalem, the city of Peace, God's city, and are supposed to be carrying messages of peace and well-being, are carrying a message of destruction, saying that one of their own, Jesus, is possessed by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, and even works with that power. A possessed person is one who is at war in himself. He cannot make good decisions. He cannot think well. Because he cannot think well, he is described as "Mad". The Greek word used to denote "out of his mind" is EPISTEMI, and this refers to the state of being out of one's beingness. Here, one is unable to hold himself and comprehend issues. Such a person is simply not himself. His own people say, "he is out of his mind" (thus, mad), and the scribes give the cause of the madness as being possessed by Beelzebul. 

Surprisingly, Jesus did not respond immediately to the charge that "he is out of his mind". He responded to the cause of the charge that "he is out of his mind". He did it by drawing on three analogies — kingdom, House, and Strong man's house. Let's consider the last one — Strong Man's house. 

Jesus said, "No one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods. He first binds the Strong man then he can plunder his goods" (Mk. 3: 27). Certainly, no one can enter a strong man's house simply because the man is strong. It is not easy to enter his house because, with a lesser strength, you will be defeated, and, with similar or same strength, you may be defeated if you do not use the right strategies. But this begs the questions, "who is a strong man?" and "what is his kind of strength?". The Greek word used is ISCHUROS. It is the same word used in Matthew 3: 11, 14: 30; Luke 15: 14, 14: 12, 18: 23. In all these instances, the word ISCHUROS is used to denote something that is beyond physical strength. It is more than physical, and includes something spiritual. That strong man is not only physically strong, his economy, his house, which cannot simply be entered into, is built on wealth, affluence and influence, he has a very great political standing, religiously stable, and security-wise, he is secured. Think of a king or ruler today. 

The problem now is how such a person can be BOUND, when access to the person is rare and everything around the person is excellently built that you have no way into the house. The Greek word "Deō" is translated as to Bind, but it also means "to defeat". To Bind or Defeat is to limit the freedom of the strong man, especially over us. Without a second thought, that strong man is an enemy, and in context, the strong man is Satan himself. There is only one way left to Bind or Defeat him. That sure way is in the Battle of Minds/Hearts. 

The devil comes to wage war us by way of our minds, challenges our faith, convictions, principles, what we use our minds and hearts to believe, what we hold allegiance to and when we begin to compromise our faith and good moral principles, we fail in binding the strong man. This kind of strong man is external to us. This is a force external to us imposing and challenging us to do away with our convictions. Today, we are challenged not to compromise our faith and good moral principles. Even if the names of vices change, our foundations should not be altered. Considering the First Reading (Genesis 3), Adam and Eve compromised in the the Battle of minds. They ate of the tree they were asked not to eat. As a result, they lost their original innocence and union with God, and faced the consequences of their decisions. They failed to defeat the strong man in the Battle of Minds/Hearts, thus, Battle of Loyalty. 

The second kind of strong man we can guard against and Bind (or Defeat) is the internal strong man. The external strong man is not as difficult as the internal strong man. That internal strong man seeks to challenge your Catholic faith from within. That is your accent to whatever comes from outside of you. When you accent to whatever challenges your faith so that you change your position and accept what is bad and sideline your good convictions, you become unsuccessful in binding or defeating the strong man. The onus is on us not to allow the external strong man to work on us.

Today, let us guard our minds, remain steadfast in faith and good moral principles, and never allow the challenges of the strong man to get to the core of our being. May the Sacred Heart of Jesus be the source of our strength, and may whatever Battle we fight for the sake of preserving our faith receive strength from God, who has concern for our salvation and redemption. 

Pax et Bonum