Evil won’t have the last word Gn 3:9-15; Ps 130:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8; 2 Cor 4:13—5:1; Mk 3:20-35 The first reading for this Sunday is taken from the early chapters of the Book of Genesis where the Bible attempts to account for human origins. Certain things are clear: God created the universe in all its beauty and order out of love, and the culmination of that bountiful love was the creation of the human being, male and female. God creates the human “in God’s own image and likeness” — an astounding affirmation of the dignity and sacredness of human life. But as the human story unfolds, there also erupts the mystery of evil that was not God’s intent but derives from an abuse of human freedom. As we have in this artful story in today’s reading, Adam and Eve disobey God, take the forbidden fruit and find themselves enveloped in arrogance, shame, fear, attempted deception and mutual blaming. (“The woman made me do it. The snake made me do it.”) This is part of the human legacy that every generation since has experienced. There are echoes of this biblical view of human plight in the selection for today from the Gospel of Mark. After his powerful display of healing at the outset of his ministry, described by Mark as virtually non-stop, Jesus’ family is concerned that “he is out of his mind” — a remarkable statement. In Mark’s Gospel so many of the people close to Jesus have a hard time grasping the awesome nature of Jesus and his mission, including his family and his disciples. The response of the religious authorities is much more negative. They concede that Jesus has the power to heal but they attribute that power to Satan, “the prince of demons.” This is a total misinterpretation of who Jesus is and the purpose of his mission. Jesus who is filled with the Spirit of God and intent on restoring human life is viewed by these scribes as an instrument of evil. No wonder the Gospel speaks of an ultimate blasphemy that is so willfully wrong that it seems to put one beyond redemption. As the Gospel story unfolds we learn that Jesus’ family is now standing outside the house where he is preaching and they want him to come out so they can take him home. Jesus responds by looking at those sitting around him and declares: “Here are my mother and my brothers. Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.” True kinship with Jesus is not determined by bloodlines but by doing God’s will. In many ways this part of the Gospel account offered by Mark is rather bleak. Opposition to Jesus on the part of the religious authorities is growing. His own family and his disciples find it hard to grasp the full meaning of Jesus’ mission. The momentum of Mark’s narrative moves with increasing intensity to Jesus’ encounter with death, a moment when his enemies seem to triumph and when his followers abandon him in fear. The power of evil accounted for in Genesis asserts itself again. Our Scriptures and our Christian faith are never content simply to lament the power of evil. Surging through the biblical narrative and informing the foundation of our Christian faith is the conviction that God’s love is far more powerful than any expression of evil. That is the message of the beautiful response Psalm recited at this Sunday liturgy. The psalm begins with lament: “Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord; Lord, hear my voice!” But the psalmist finds hope and solace in the realization that God is merciful: “But with you is forgiveness … I trust in the Lord; my soul trusts in his word. More than sentinels wait for the dawn, let Israel wait for the Lord. For with the Lord is kindness and with him is plenteous redemption.” Inspired by words of the Psalm we are invited to respond: “With the Lord there is mercy, and fullness of redemption.” There is plenty of evidence of the threat of evil all around us, but Christian hope will never allow evil to have the last word.
About the Author Donald Senior was president emeritus, chancellor and professor of New Testament studies at Catholic Theological Union, 5401 S. Cornell Ave., until his death on Nov. 8, 2022.