Saturday 22 January

2 Samuel 1:1-4, 11-12, 17, 19, 23-27; Psalm 80:2-3, 5-7; Mark 3:20-21

Experiencing misunderstanding

“Those who were close to him … set out to seize him” because he was “out of his mind.” The Greek word literally means ‘out of himself’ and is related to the word for ‘ecstasy.’ Mark is telling us that Jesus has a more heightened consciousness than people around him. Jesus and his followers often experience painful misunderstanding from those close to them. Prayerfully consider how this may be so for you in contemporary secular culture when faithfulness to the gospel often provokes pain and misunderstanding.