Crazy with a Capital K

Jan. 21: Memorial of Saint Agnes, Virgin and Martyr

St. Agnes is one of the “virgin martyrs” of the church of Rome.  In a time of excessive licentiousness, Agnes and others like her possessed great restraint in sexual morals. As you’d imagine, she was an outcast, regarded as crazy, even dangerous. Many people resented her, believing she was judging them rather than modeling good behavior, to the point where they wanted to kill her.

Looks crazy, right?

Sounds like today’s gospel…

Reading 1 

Heb 9:2-3, 11-14

A tabernacle was constructed, the outer one, in which were the lampstand, the table, and the bread of offering;  this is called the Holy Place. Behind the second veil was the tabernacle called the Holy of Holies. 

But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that have come to be, passing through the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made by hands, that is, not belonging to this creation, he entered once for all into the sanctuary, not with the blood of goats and calves but with his own Blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls and the sprinkling of a heifer’s ashes can sanctify those who are defiled so that their flesh is cleansed, how much more will the Blood of Christ, who through the eternal spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from dead works to worship the living God.

The Temple had two tabernacles, an innie and an outie. Only certain people, high priests, were allowed to pass behind the veil to the holiest place and make sacrifices for the whole of Israel. Jesus is the new High Priest, who enters into an even higher tabernacle (Heaven), with a perfect sacrifice (Himself).

This is a good reminder that all the stuff in the Hebrew Scriptures isn’t “old” and thrown out. It’s a preview of things to come.

No, not these things.

We exist in time in a way that God, who is infinite, does not. Or didn’t, until He became a man, Jesus. Not everything could happen simultaneously. There had to be a beginning, a middle, and an end. Jesus was born, preached the Gospel, died, rose again. But before all that, there had to be Mary. And Mary had to come from somewhere, so there had to be¹ an Israel, with its long relationship with God, all the way back to the patriarchs.

And so Hebrews, and many other books in the Bible, ties the Old and New together, leading up to Christ, and then following him.

Responsorial Psalm 

47:2-3, 6-7, 8-9

R. God mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord.
All you peoples, clap your hands,
shout to God with cries of gladness,
For the LORD, the Most High, the awesome,
is the great king over all the earth.
R. God mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord.
God mounts his throne amid shouts of joy;
the LORD, amid trumpet blasts.
Sing praise to God, sing praise;
sing praise to our king, sing praise.
R. God mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord.
For king of all the earth is God:
sing hymns of praise.
God reigns over the nations,
God sits upon his holy throne.
R. God mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord.

This is kind of a strange Psalm from an ancient Hebrew perspective. Isn’t God already on his thrown? But in retrospect, this appears to be one of those passages alluding to Jesus, becoming the King of all the Earth, reigning over every nation, well beyond Israel.

Alleluia

See Acts 16:14b

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Open our hearts, O Lord,
to listen to the words of your Son.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Interestingly, this is about a woman mentioned in Acts who believed in Jesus and the Jewish God, but wasn’t Jewish herself. Because Jesus brings his message to the whole Earth, not just Israel.

Gospel 

Mk 3:20-21

Jesus came with his disciples into the house. Again the crowd gathered, making it impossible for them even to eat. When his relatives heard of this they set out to seize him, for they said, "He is out of his mind."

This continues the running theme of the week: Jesus can’t get a moment alone. He can’t sleep, He can’t even eat. Give the guy a break!

People are following Him from all over, yet the people He grew up with, His relatives and hometown friends, think He is out of his mind, crazy. But do they really think that? Or is it just that they can’t accept hometown boy makes good?

Worse still, the story ends on a cliffhanger, which won’t be resolved until Monday!

1. “Had to” is a strong phrase. It’s possible to imagine some alternative timeline, but it’s not possible to imagine no timeline.