Fr Bonnie Inspirations

We consider someone to be out of his or her senses when the individual behaves in a way that falls short of what the society expects. For instance, when someone decides to walk the streets naked or pick up things from the garbage to eat, people would conclude that the individual is out of touch with reality; in other words, insane. On another note, some psychiatrists believe that we all have various degrees of insanity; hence the theory that nobody is entirely sane.

The Gospel Reading today (Mark 3:20-35) presents us with the visit of our Lord Jesus Christ to his hometown, Nazareth, after leaving home for a while and ministering around the region of Galilee. Jesus’ pastoral visit to Nazareth turns out to be a verbal attack on his nascent ministry. Two significant accusations come after him: being out of his senses and being possessed and working by the power of Beelzebub, the prince of demons.

The First Reading (Gen.3:9-15) tells us the story of the Fall, that is the first sin in the Garden of Eden. After eating the forbidden fruit, God called Adam and asked, “where are you?” Replying Adam says that he heard God in the garden and decides to hide because he was naked. Further inquiries about the awareness of being naked showed that Adam ate the forbidden fruit and he blames God indirectly by saying, “the woman you put here with me gave me, and I ate.” That means if God did not bring the woman the story could have been different. The woman shifts the blame on the persuasion of the serpent, and the snake could not say anything because the reason was clear, to make them disobey God and lose the grace of paradise.

This reflection tries to examine the actions of Adam in the Garden of Eden in line with the events following the ministry of Jesus Christ in Nazareth. The primary idea is to establish who is out of his senses and under the power of Beelzebub. Of course, we have lessons to learn.

• “Where are you?”

This is a common question family, and friends ask themselves especially when they speak over the phone. People often ask the question to know how safe you are, how close you are to them and what you might be doing. When Adam gets the question from God, he could not say precisely where he was. Contrarily, Adam gives an answer that indicates what he was doing and why, “I heard you in the garden, but I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid myself.”

Come to think of it; God was not asking because he could not locate Adam physically (God knows everything), He was asking Adam, “where do you stand in the instruction I gave to you; where do you stand in my relationship with you?” The answer Adam gives to the question is apt as he indicates that he was naked. He lost the divine clothing, and that pushed him away from God.

If God the Father directs the same question to Jesus Christ, the answer would be, “Father, I am in Nazareth fulling my ministry, I am in Nazareth doing your will.” The liturgy of the word today is inviting every one of us to answer the same question; “where are you with God?”

• “Who is out of his senses and under the power of Beelzebub?”

In the Garden of Eden, Adam ate the forbidden fruit through the insinuations of “Beelzebub” appearing as a serpent. Consequently, humanity disobeyed God and obeyed the devil. In Nazareth, our Lord Jesus Christ could not eat, not that he is forbidden to eat, but because of his preoccupation with spreading the good news in obedience to the will of God which also includes freeing humanity from the power of the evil one (Col 1:13).

In the estimation of the relatives of Jesus Christ, he is out of his senses because he had no time to eat. Furthermore, in the thoughts of the Scribes, he is possessed by Beelzebub, the prince of demons because he was casting out demons. Considering the narrative of the fall and the ministry of Jesus Christ in Nazareth, “who is out of his senses, Adam, or Jesus Christ?”

To be out of one’s senses, in relation to God, means disobedience. An excellent example is the story of the prodigal son. The passage in Luke (15:17-18) tells us that the prodigal son suddenly comes to his senses and decides to go back to his father. What this means is that when we operate outside our spiritual senses, we offend God and obey the devil. Adam is, therefore, the one who is out of his senses.

As we march into a new week, let us strive to become the faithful brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ by being in our right senses with God through our conscious obedience to Him. Since our Lord Jesus Christ has redeemed us from the slavery to sin to righteousness (Rom. 6:17-18), we should always stand close to God and do His will so that when we hear His footsteps, we could run to embrace Him and not to hide from Him.

Being in our right senses with God may often lead us to our being out of our senses with the world starting with our families and relatives. Often, our family ties, values, and expectations could run into conflict with our vocation and relationship with God leaving us to choose between family and God. The tension between family expectations and divine expectations could be troubling but St. Paul tells us in the Second Reading (2 Cor.4:13-5:1) that we should not be discouraged because our inner self would be renewed day by day as the affliction is momentary but the glory is eternal.  

Have a beautiful Sunday and a great week ahead and remember to be where God would want to find you when He comes into the garden of your life.

Fr. Bonnie.