Mark 3:20-35

June 9, 2024

The Rev. Todd R. Goddard, Pastor

Rush United Methodist Church

Mark 3:20-35

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.” And he called them to him, and spoke to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but his end has come. But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his property without first tying up the strong man; then indeed the house can be plundered.

“Truly I tell you, people will be forgiven for their sins and whatever blasphemies they utter; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”— for they had said, “He has an unclean spirit.”

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.”

| Centering Prayer |

Whoever does the will of God

Is my brother

And sister

And mother.

I was born into an ocean of grace

That has swept me as if in a riptide

To where and what and how

God has intended me to be.

It is as if

God’s will in my life

Has been a stream of living water

Carving a Grand Canyon

Sweeping me to where God wants me

To do what God wants me to do,

To be as God intended.

I’ve been surrounded by

Family living intentionally according to God’s will.

My mother, Alice, was God’s grace in the flesh,

A life filled with love, discipleship, and selfless sacrifice.

She took upon herself to scrub church floors on her hands and knees

And supply parishioners with a seemingly endless supply of apple pies.

My father, Charles,

Buckey to everyone else,

Led by the hand of Jesus

Through epoch naval battles

To the doorway of seminary

And eighteen years serving churches

As a pastoral servant in our annual conference.

Blood brothers and sister

All have led lives

Channeled by God’s grace,

According to God’s will.

Sobriety and service,

Teaching and study,

Volunteering in missions,

Raising Christian sons and daughters

Each according to their own call.

Steve, Cindy, and Bryan

I tip my hat and bow

That you have been responsive to God’s call and will in your lives.

The greatest blessing of my life

Is my wife, Cynthia,

God’s gift to me,

My center of gravity,

My confidant, my love;

Who’s life call has been to

Support mothers and babies,

Their health and wellness;

God’s will playing forth

By loving hands,

Kind words,

And a compassionate heart.

I pale in her shadow.

My sons have found God’s will for their lives

Through faithful worship,

Making family with people with physical and developmental disabilities,

Always supportive, strong, loving, and wise.

Their paths have been different,

Yet have converged upon the same,

Listening to the still, small, voice of God

And responding accordingly.

Whoever does the will of God

Is my brother

And sister

And mother.

I gaze in awe

At the families who have become

Part of my life and family,

Summer staff who have

Faithfully listened and answered God’s call for their lives,

Becoming local church leaders and pastors,

Teachers and captains of industry,

Scientists and clinicians,

Each, kindhearted,

Disciples of Jesus.

I am a brother to seminary kin,

Ordained and deployed across the globe,

Witnessing to the God of their experience,

Spirit filled leaders inviting people into a relationship with Jesus,

Serving in diverse locations and circumstances.

From Haiti to Nebraska to Israel,

Wow, I’m in awe,

Of the impact they have made

On behalf of Christ and His Church.

The ordained is to be granted the keys to God’s kingdom,

A responsibility I take seriously.

To be ordained is to have my call,

God’s will for my life,

Confirmed by concentric circles of discernment

That included the Pastor Parish Relations Committee of the Chemung United Methodist Church,

The Elmira District Committee on Ordained Ministry,

The Central New York, and later, the North Central New York Conferences Boards of Ordained Ministry.

My brothers and sister clergy

Form a holy sea,

Imperfect as we are,

Each traveling on the road to Christian perfection.

I am so blessed and privileged to dawn the stole of the ordained,

To take my place at the table of apostles,

Serving only the Lord, Jesus Christ,

His people,

His kingdom.

Family,

People dedicated to doing the will of God

Share a common baptism,

An invisible sign of God’s eternal grace.

The majority of my family

Are not blood relatives

Or clergy colleagues,

But the laity who lead local churches

Where I have been privileged to serve.

God’s will and call

Knows no bounds.

I’ve been holy collaborators with

Lay leaders throughout the Finger Lakes

And the greater Rochester region.

Oh, how I love you,

Your willingness to serve Christ and his kingdom,

Loving God,

Loving neighbors.

You are my mothers,

My sisters, and

My brothers.

My life and call to pastoral ministry

Has not been all mountain top experiences.

Our family has endured death, disease, and disappointment.

Some have wondered,

But, thankfully, have always returned home.

Through every trial, temptation, and sin

God never abandoned me.

I always experienced God’s sustaining grace

Through periods of despair, discouragement, suffering, and pain.

Life has not been always rosy,

But I’ve always been sustained by this beautiful ocean of grace,

Those of you gathered here,

And thousands surrounding us as a cloud of witnesses,

Strong, loving, present,

The Body of Christ,

Spirit filled,

Family.  

Families don’t always get along.

Pride, arrogance, and stubbornness

Have led to hurt and harm.

Yet, … even yet,

Our common baptism,

Our common love of Jesus,

Our common desire to do the will of God

Unites us,

Warts and all.

Whoever does the will of God

Is my brother

And sister

And mother.

Beloved,

And I mean that in the fullness sense of the word,

You are loved,

By God and by me.

You are loved by your sisters, brothers, and mothers,

Each of us cheering your successes,

Sharing in your brokenness,

Enveloping you with God’s grace.

Beloved,

You belong here.

Belonging is essential to family.

Play with children.

Teach youth.

Extend hospitality to your neighbors.

Increase your size with sincere invitations.

Be the Body of Christ.

Be the hands of Jesus

Doing the will of God.

Family.

You are my family.

You are God’s family.

Break the dam of hesitation

And love without reservation.

Amen.