Today's Reading: Mark 3:20-35

Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 8:1-21; John 12:36b-50

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Only the wrong people worry about committing the unforgivable sin. The old saying goes, if you’re worried about committing this sin, you haven’t, because the sin against the Holy Spirit is unbelief, and if you’re worried about it, it’s because you care, which is a sign there’s belief.

The problem isn’t just that it gives people prone to worry the new worry that maybe they don’t worry enough about their faith. It also leaves them to find comfort in the worry Jesus tells them not to have. Don’t worry; your worry is a sign that nothing is wrong. But if you don’t worry, is something wrong? Maybe we’re overcomplicating things by trying to make them simple.  

So Jesus attaches this worrisome verse to a parable about a strong man. The comfort doesn’t come from how you feel about Him. The comfort comes from whether or not he’s been bound. Jesus enters Satan's house, binds him, and then plunders the house. You were Satan's. But Christ has bound his accusing tongue. He has forgiven your sins. He has died so that you would not be owned by the devil anymore. You belong to Christ now. If you wonder whether or not you have committed the unforgivable sin, don’t ask how worried you are about committing the unforgivable sin. Ask yourself, has Jesus overcome the devil? Is this a good thing or a bad thing? If Christ has conquered, and that’s good, you have not committed the unforgivable sin. Breathe. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.