Mark 3:20-35
Proper 5 / Year B
I trust
our children today still learn the adage “sticks and stones may break your
bones but names will never hurt me.” It
has been around at least since the early 1800s and serves as an effect reminder
not to let the words of bullies get you riled.
The only problem is names actually can hurt you, at least according to sociologists
who research what they call “deviant accusations” or “negative labeling” and
examine how it can undermine a person’s status in the community. Think about how peoples’ lives were changed
in the 50s by being tagged ‘pinko’ or ‘commie.’
Does it make a difference in school if you are labeled a ‘shining star’
or a ‘trouble-maker’? You bet it
does. I remember the first time a person
called me a ‘snowflake.’ I had never
heard the term before, but knew inherently it was not a complement.
In
first century Israel, labels had a devastating effect on how a person was
perceived and treated. How often in the
gospels is a person referred to as being a ‘sinner’ and how often is Jesus criticized
for associating with them? Being labeled
‘unclean’ got a person barred from social gatherings. Being known as ‘barren’ became a horrifying
stigma.
This
morning, we read of Jesus being the recipient of two deviant accusations; each
coming from a source which carries a lot of weight. The first comes from his own family, his
mother and siblings. They show up at a
public gathering where Jesus is the center of attention; intending a kind of
intervention because they believe Jesus has lost his mind – literally gone
crazy. It is early on in his public
ministry and they don’t know how else to make sense out of what he is saying
and doing.
The
other deviant accusation comes from religious authorities; respected and
admired community leaders. They assert
Jesus is demon possessed. It is how they
make sense of his power and attempt to explain his deeds. The accusation of sorcery, if made to stick,
would be nearly impossible to shake.
Sticks
and stones, right. Wrong. The accusations hurled at Jesus are potent
social weapons holding the potential to undermine his public standing and
reputation. If accepted, they will
destroy his credibility with the very people he is trying to touch with God’s
love.
So,
labeling theory holds people view a person or a group differently once they
have been labeled. Think how your
perception of a person changes when, for example, they have the word ‘criminal’
attached to them. The label changes how
we see them. But it also changes
them. Once they are tagged with
‘criminal’, they see themselves differently.
It will reshape and perhaps even overtake their own self-identity.
The
phrase “looking glass self” was first coined by Charles Cooley in 1902. It describes how a person’s sense of self is
dependent upon how one believes he or she appears to others. He based this theory on his observations of
childhood social development:
First, we imagine
how we appear to others.
Next, we imagine
how others are judging us based on how they appear to response to us (this is
where deviant labeling fits in).
Finally, we imagine
how others feel about us based on the judgments they make.
Cooley
emphasized each one of us has the ability to decide which judgements to accept
when forming a sense of self and which to reject. How much weight do you give to your
supporters and how much credence do you give to your detractors?
Having your
family say you’re out of your mind and having religious leaders accuse you of
being demon-possessed must have been unsettling to Jesus. He dismisses the second accusation by
asserting you cannot work against something while at the same time being for it
– “a house divided against itself cannot stand.”
He
mitigates the first deviant accusation by redefining how he experiences
‘family’ in his life. Yes, he has a
mother and siblings and, based on today’s story at least, we can assume there
are some interesting dynamics at play in their family. We tend to romanticize the family unit;
positing it to be a place of complete peace and harmony. Some are.
Most are not. Something is amiss
with Jesus’ family of origin. We don’t
know what it is, but in those who gather around him, who seek to know and do
God’s will, Jesus finds a family even closer than his biological relatives –
just as each of us here this morning comes from our own interesting family of
origin and finds in our wider faith community a new kind of family.
I
suspect Jesus, upon being labeled crazy and possessed, recalled another time he
was labeled. It was the time he rose out
of the waters of the Jordon River and heard God’s voice proclaim, “You are my
child. I love you. With you I am well-pleased.” It is the same label we received at baptism
and it is irrevocable. I suspect Jesus
leaned heavily upon how God responded to him.
I suspect it helped him to sort through the deviant accusations he
endured. And I hope you will always,
always, always lean on your baptismal label as being the foundation of who you
are.
