Before boarding a plane this week I presented my ID to an= agent having a lively conversation with her coworker. She immediately drew me into the debate. She said, “Can = you recite the pledge of allegiance? To the flag.”&n= bsp; I moved my right hand to my heart, turned toward the Independence Day decorations they had on a nearby table, and said, “I pledge allegianc= e to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, under God – “ then I paused to make sure I = got the next word right. She said= to me, “I think it’s ‘individual’.” I said, no, “indivisible.” Her coworker nodded. &= #8220;That’s it,” she said. So I concluded, “indivisible with liberty and ju= stice for all.” That satisfie= d them; I said, “So, do I win a free year’s membership in the airline club?” She pulled a car= d from the stack in front of her and slapped it on the counter. “No,” she said, “= ;but I’ll give you a free drink.”&n= bsp; The nuns who taught me the pledge of allegiance when I was in grade school had no idea how useful it would be one day.

One little word like “indivisible” can trip y= ou up. In today’s gospel, = there are two little words that can trip up Catholics. One is “brother” and t= he other is “sisters”. In this section Mark’s gospel points out that Jesus had opponents. People from his own town and famil= y did not appreciate who he was. Th= is starts to explain how things spun so far out of control that he ended his l= ife on a cross, even though he preached with wisdom, worked miracles, and proclaimed good news. T= he key question these people ask is the first one: “Where did this man get a= ll this?” The obvious answ= er is, “Duh. From God,” = but they don’t know this.

Today people get tripped up by the last two questions: &#= 8220;Is he not the brother of James and Joses and Judas= and Simon? And are not his sister= s here with us?” All Christians believe that Mary was a virgin when she conceived Jesus. It says so right in Luke’s gospel. But Catholics have al= so held the tradition that Mary remained a virgin throughout her life. Two texts of the mass call her “ever-Virgin” – one in the Confiteor and another in the F= irst Eucharistic Prayer, which I’ll use today so you can hear it; it comes shortly after the Holy, Holy, Holy. There are three points of view about this verse. One is that the men and women ment= ioned here are relatives of Jesus, but not blood brothers and sisters – and this is the position you find in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Another tradition is that Joseph h= ad children from a previous marriage. <= /span>And the third opinion is that it means what it says: M= ary and Joseph had at least six other children, and these were Jesus’ brothers and sisters.

In any case, that whole issue creates the kind of division today’s gospel criticizes; namely, that we sometimes don’t appreciate other Christians or other people from our own town or our own fa= mily. At times we don’t fully appr= eciate our own country, or the flag that stands for it. We too easily overlook the blessin= gs that surround us, and even find ourselves fighting with the very people we should love, the ones who share our home, beliefs, and nationality. So let’s take this Independe= nce Day weekend to be truly grateful for all those people. Let us acknowledge the values, the citizenship and the faith that makes us – whether or not we remember = the word - indivisible.