Out of One’s Mind

[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 22: JANUARY 22, 2022]

Mark 3:20-21. He is out of his mind

Out of One’s Mind

Notice these three statements:

1. Jesus is judged by his relatives and the Pharisees as “out of his mind”, for He did things that are apparently in contrast with traditional laws or norms.

2. Millennials (and the upcoming Gen Z) are judged in terms of job-hopping or prioritizing passion or purpose over profits. Our generation is out of our minds.

3. Flat-earthers and anti-vaxxers are judged for going against scientific evidence about the planet Earth and the efficacy of vaccines. Society judges them as being out of their minds.

What’s the difference between the three statements? For me, the first and second statements show Jesus and the new generation (Jesus, infallible; generations, very fallible) engaging in AUTHENTIC DISCERNMENT, oriented towards what is truly good. The third statement seems born out of preferring a narrative, sticking to it, and not wanting to be wrong.

The insight: we can apparently appear as insane to others, but Jesus and the people who leave a coherent train of thought (or audit trail) means a predisposition to be subjected to constructive dialogue; about the TRUTH, WHAT is right rather than “who” is right.

Only the Word is always True; we humans iteratively correct our fallible understanding and judgements.

A narrative that does not subject to review and correction is the metaphorical cyanide cool-aid; a narrative that corrects itself and adapts to context based on evidence – perhaps this is providence.