Gospel Reflection 20061001
Working Together to Build the KingdomOctober 1, 2006Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mark 9:39-43, 45, 47-48At that time, John said to Jesus, "Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name, and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow us." Jesus replied, "Do not prevent him. There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name who can at the same time speak ill of me. For whoever is not against us is for us. Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ, amen, I say to you, will surely not lose his reward. Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were put around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed than with two hands to go into Gehenna, into the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life crippled than with two feet to be thrown into Gehenna. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. Better for you to enter into the Kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into Gehenna, where ´their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.´"
Introductory Prayer: Lord Jesus, I believe that you are truly present with me when I invoke your name in prayer. I trust that you will guide me in this meditation. Increase my faith!
Petition: Lord, grant me universal charity so that I will be ready to collaborate with everyone to extend your Kingdom.
1. Unity in Christ. St. John protested that others were “driving out demons” in Christ’s name, but his zealous love for the Master needed purification and balance. Jesus capitalized on the opportunity to help St. John foster a magnanimous attitude in his apostolic work. He invited John to collaborate with others and to leave his territorial attachments. How many times has this happened to us? Whether it be in our parish or our movement or prayer group, we too need to be open to working with everyone who believes in Christ. We need to find points of unity with everyone working in Christ’s name. As Pope Benedict XVI said to the Ecclesial Movements gathered in Rome on the feast of Pentecost: “The whole Church, as Pope John Paul II liked to say, is only one great movement, animated by the Holy Spirit, a river that goes through history to water it with the grace of God and to make her life fruitful in goodness, beauty, justice and peace.”
2. All Men of Good Will. Many of the papal encyclicals are addressed to “all men of good will,” which means every person who lives and is open to living in the truth. Jesus sets this standard for universal apostolic outreach. Charity is the mark of a person of good will. Hence the words of Christ: “Whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple--truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward” (Matthew 10:42). We too must be open to all men and women of good will. When good people witness charity in us, they find themselves attracted to the Church and to Christ. Universal charity is a great way to attract people to the knowledge and love of Christ. 3. The Conversion of Sinners. No one remains outside the reach of God’s redemptive plan, even those who are living sinful lives. It is the compassion of Jesus that leads him to warn us about the evil of sin and the existence of hell. His compassion and universal love for all people drive him to warn his followers that sin must be eradicated from our lives. “If your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out.” We too must follow Jesus in universal charity and concern for all people.
Dialogue with Christ: Lord Jesus, you have saved me from sin. You have called me out of the darkness and into your great light. Help me to follow your example of universal charity. I want to love others as you have loved me!
Resolution: Today I commit myself to making an act of kindness to someone that is outside of my social circle.
REFLECTION:
Whoever is not against us is for us
Jesus is teaching a lesson in tolerance to his disciples. They are not the only ones whom God will allow to perform mighty deeds in the name of Jesus Christ. An act that is good and loving, performed by anyone, benefits everyone. While Catholic Christians enjoy the real Presence of Christ in our churches, we are not the only ones who can do God’s work. If the motivation is love of God and love of neighbor, we should not criticize but perhaps commend and even cooperate.
Jesus is our best role model in authentic Christian charity. His good words were always accompanied by good deeds. It is action, not inertia, that will be the basis of our own final judgment. Will God ask us how successful we have been or how much money we left behind for our family? Or will He want to know how often we helped a neighbor -- one of his “little ones” -- in trouble.
What good is it my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? For just as a body without a spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.
[James 2:14, 26]
“Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.” [Matthew 25:45]
In addition to our own corrupt ways, Jesus makes a strong condemnation of those guilty of leading others into wrongdoing. Hopefully, none of us would knowingly and deliberately convince or coerce someone into committing a sin of any kind. How often, though, are we unknowingly and unintentionally showing others that it is OK to use God’s name in vain, or tell “little lies” or miss Mass on Sunday, or take home small supplies from the office? Once again, our actions are what others observe. They use our own actions to form their idea of our moral values, especially if these deeds do not match our words. Furthermore, how often do we unknowingly and unintentionally encourage someone to remain in a sinful state by not standing up for what is the true teachings of Jesus and his Church?
Gehenna was the name given originally to a valley where the pagan Canaanites would burn children in sacrifice to false gods. In the time of Jesus, this name was given to a garbage dump outside town where a fire was kept continuously burning to destroy the town garbage. The name represents a place where there was no escaping from eternal punishment, and was often equated with the concept of Hell.
We all tend to exaggerate when we explain a potentially dangerous situation, especially to our children. Have you ever told your face-making child that his face would “freeze that way?” It is not done with intention to deceive but to stress the importance of the lesson we are teaching. Jesus uses this hyperbole (exaggeration) to show us how important it is to separate ourselves from any person, place, or thing that can cause us to move away from God’s grace. The enjoyment of a little pleasure, or a pleasant but sinful companion in this world is not worth losing our own place in heaven. Is it???
Likewise in the Gospel, John is upset because he saw someone driving out demons in the name of Jesus who was not one of the chosen disciples.
In both cases, St. John and the Israelites try to limit the power of God and restrict God's power to a special group. Jesus and Moses admonish them, as Jesus says, "For whoever is not against us is for us." Nothing really changes does it? We see today, right here in our parish, instances in which folks get upset because they feel that someone else has done something they were not authorized to do.
We had a case a couple of weeks past when one person became very angry and upset because another person visited a parishioner confined to home due to illness. That was her visitation and the other person had no right butting in on it. What a shame, I'm sure the ill person enjoyed both visits and would welcome even more visitors.
Often we loose sight of what ministry really calls us to do - God's work. He does not limit who He calls to do that ministry and how they are to do it. We all tend to get possessive and controlling and stake out our little empires. Jesus does not see it that way. He calls each of us to a special ministry at our Baptism and it is our duty to carry that out in our lives. In most cases, this means sharing that ministry with our sisters and brothers, and that is a wonderful thing. Together we advance the Kingdom of God on earth.
Jesus uses hyperbole to express the same thought. He says that nothing should come between us and God, even to the point of cutting off our hand and putting out our eye if they are as source of sin. We used to call that "putting yourself in the near occasion of sin." If I know that someone or something or some place causes me to sin, then I most avoid them. It similar to cutting off the hand - we have to cut off out relationship with things and people who lead us to sin.
Its so easy to rationalize these things. Oh, going to an X-rated movie doesn't bother me! Just one more drink is OK, after all its just one. We all know where those things can lead and we need to be constantly vigilant to make sure we don't make excuses for ourselves. You play with fire, eventually you will get burned - its a fact.
So as we leave Mass today and look forward to another week, let us reflect on these two themes. Let's not be selfish with our ministries in the parish and let's always be aware that we are sinners who need to avoid situations that cause us to falter.
Our Gospel Reading shows us how John approached Jesus and said to him, “We saw someone driving out demons in your name.” The disciples had observed that the person who was driving out the demons did not belong to their group. Seeing this, they had prevented him from doing so. When the disciples told him this, the Lord did not like what he heard, because he did not thing this was the right thing to do nor the appropriate action to take. This was intolerance. And, how could the Lord approve of the intolerance, or the small-mindedness, that his disciples were showing?
From the beginnings of its existence, our Church has taught that no single group, no single person, has a monopoly on Christian spirituality. People who are intolerant, who show favoritism, or who have a desire for power should not be allowed to enter into Christian communities. But, if they do enter, they should be shown that in our Church all of us have to act as Jesus did. The Gospel Reading today makes this clear. We should always remember that the Church belongs to all of us and that all of us have rights and responsibilities. We cannot reject people simply because they do not share our same spirituality or do not follow Jesus in the same way we do.
Being exclusive in any place, but especially in Church communities, can lead to sin. In our communities, in our groups, in the universal Catholic Church, we should act as Jesus showed us: we are all part of the Body of Christ, the Church. We are all equal, no matter what the color of our skin, our ethnic group, our language or from which continent we come. We have the obligation to be kind to others and to welcome everyone equally. Christians will be known if in the community, or in whatever group they identify themselves with, they know how to welcome, to be kind and accepting, of personalities or opinions which are contrary to their own. There will only be peace in our communities when we can act humbly without trying to impose our own will on others, in a word, when we stop trying to dominate everyone and everything.
The apostles learned very well the lesson that Christ gave them about tolerance and acceptance. No one should try to give us lessons on this. Remember that the apostles were the ones who led and unified the early Church by following the norms they had learned from the Master. The Apostle Saint James was the head of the Christian community in Jerusalem. In our Second Reading, Saint James warns us against the type of power that can lead us to avarice, small-mindedness and a desire to dominate. He seriously warns us about the desires that many people have to enrich themselves, taking advantage of others, cheating their brother and their sister. He exhorts us to cast aside this inordinate, and sinful, desire for money and power. He tells the rich that if they only worry about their riches, they run the risk of losing their souls. What the Apostle is saying is reason enough for us to think about what we are doing, to start to detach ourselves from material things, instead of trying to obtain more, especially more of those things that are not necessary for us. The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us that we should practice the charity of the Lord in good and fraternal acts that will lead to heaven.
Even though Our Lord always preached against intolerance, he did not say that we had to consent to or be in agreement with sin. Respecting the opinions of others even though they may not be the same as ours shows the tolerance that Christ taught. What we cannot tolerate is sin in whatever form it takes. Christ himself pardoned the sins of many people but he never made excuses for sinfulness. What the Lord really asks us to do is to follow the road that separates us from sin.
(This homily is directed toward the teens and young adults in the congregation. It is probably not appropriate for some weekend Masses but, usually, the evening Saturday mass and the mid morning Sunday Mass is well attended by parents and their children.
The teen and young adult population probably represents 30-35% of those in attendance. However, I have seldom heard a homily directed at this young group. They are the ones who face the most difficult temptations but we seldom speak to them.
When I have done it, the reaction has been tremendously positive. The young people will hear you but the parents will thank you for assisting them in a difficult role. They need help.)
Usually, a homilist will attempt to include as large a portion of the congregation as possible when delivering a homily. Today, I would like to depart from that procedure and direct much of this message to the young people here, those under 25 years of age
Recently I read a report that indicates the major movie production companies and the major television networks are planning to have shows this coming season that are more violent and more pornographic than those in past years. Additionally, to market these productions to you younger people here this morning, they plan an extensive advertising program though other media outlets to convince you that you should watch these shows. In essence, the young people here this morning are similar to the bull’s eye on a target at a shooting gallery ..... you are targeted for more violence and more graphic presentations than you have seen in the past.
The men and women in show business who are making these plans are doing so because they want to reap greater profits. They want your money. I wonder if any of them have read today’s gospel.
Jesus’ words were spoken nearly 2000 years ago but listen to His advice for those who are involved in the modern media. "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were put around his neck and he were thrown into the sea."
Wow! That’s a pretty stern warning. I don’t think I would like to be one of the executives at the Disney Corporation, a company that produces many morally offensive movies as well as some pleasant fairy tales. The people who control the television companies like CBS, NBC, ABC and, particularly, FOX NETWORK, might be well served by reading that passage. Jesus is telling us all that God reserves a special punishment for those who corrupt the morals of young people. You here this morning/evening are the young people to whom Jesus refers.
The people corrupting the young may be among the richest men and women in our society. They may be famous actors, actresses and singers. They may head giant corporations. They may be powerful and have great influence with our elected officials. That doesn’t make one bit of difference to our God. His words in today’s gospel and in other passages indicate His emphasis on obeying His laws no matter how powerful one might be. "What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world but suffers the loss of his immortal soul?" Wealth, fame and power don’t matter when we stand before God. What maters is how we live our lives in the hope we may hear the words, "My good and faithful servant, enter into My Kingdom."
However, Jesus doesn’t say it will be easy for anyone. In today’s gospel He lets us know that we are all equally responsible. While He chastises others for producing offensive material, Jesus goes on to say, "If YOUR eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. Better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than two eyes and be thrown into Gehenna ... which means "hell".
And so, what does a young person do? Actually, you have chosen the proper course by being here this morning at Mass. Oh I know. You may be thinking, "But I don’t get anything out of Mass. I come because my parents want me here." However, the words of today’s gospel apply to all of us. "If YOUR hand causes you to sin, cut it off. If YOUR foot causes you to sin, cut it off." We all know that peer pressure and the enticements of the modern society can have a powerful effect on our actions. That’s why it is good that we are here .. that’s why it is necessary that we each spend some time in prayer seeking the help that we need so that we can ignore the enticing temptations of our modern culture.
The allure of alcohol, drugs, the movies and the latest television sit coms can be powerful. The concept that "All my friends are doing it so it must be all right", just doesn’t stand up when it is tested. If your mother or your father came to you and said, "I’ve just heard about a wonderful new recreational substance. It’s called crack cocaine. All my friends are using it. I think I’ll try it." What would you say to them? You’d probably respond, "Mom, Dad don’t do that. That drug is dangerous and it could ruin your life." You’d say that because you love them.. You say that because you do not want them to suffer harm. It wouldn’t matter how many of their friends were using the substance, you would not want them to be involved.
That’s what Jesus is saying to us. "If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off". He’s not being critical or judgmental. He’s expressing His love for us. Whether we like ot or not, God has given us Commandments. We are obliged to obey them. Even Jesus can’t change that fact.
However, He loves each of us enough to constantly warn us to resist the temptations all around us. Don’t change your moral code simply because of peer pressure or because you think it’s absolutely necessary to "be part of the crowd".
You might say, "That’s fine for Jesus but He doesn’t know how difficult following God’s Cammondments can be." Well, I recall a scene from the Garden of Gethsemene where Jesus sweated blood as He anticipated the ordeal He was about to undergo as He faced crucifixion for the forgiveness of our sins. Three times He asked His Father, "Let this cup pass from me." Finally, He accepted the challenge and said, "Not my will but thine be done." Each of us here this morning faces that same challenge in our lives. The young people here face a greater challenge because you do have great pressure to conform to the wishes of others. The parents here should realize that fact and do everything in your power to help your children.
So, today as we come to communion, please, ask your God for help. Use every opportunity to continue to seek that help each day. Your friends may not pray each day but I’m asking you to consider doing just that. It may be as you get up in the morning or go to bed at night. It may be while you’re driving to or from school. Make time for a few minutes every day and ask Jesus, "Please help me. It’s difficult not to be seduced by the many temptations around me. You love me ... help me!"
Each of us must live our own lives. Each of us must make our own decisions. What is Jesus saying to us when He says, "If your hand, foot or eye causes you to sin, cut them off. Better that you enter the kingdom of God that way than to be thrown into Gehenna?" He is saying, "I love you. I want you to be truly happy and I will help you." Think about it! Talk to your parents about what you’ve heard this morning. They also love you and will help you.
When Jesus rebukes John for wanting to silence the man who was doing a miracle in His name simply because he did not belong visibly to the group going around with Jesus, He says: “Do not stop him. No one who performs a miracle in my name is likely to speak ill of me.” He is rebuking the cliquish and elitist mentality so easily adopted by us sinful human beings, especially when we think we’re being religious. For in fact, Jesus is somehow at work in that man who seems not to belong to His group, but in effect who does because he gives honor and glory and power to the name of Jesus. The criterion of judgment is not “who is or is not seen to be with Jesus?”, but “who is effectively witnessing to Him either by word or deed?” In the profoundest sense, that stranger is no stranger to Jesus, and although his name may not appear in the register, Jesus is with him and he is with Jesus. And because of that, all who are with and belong to Jesus are with that apparent stranger and he is with Jesus and all who are with or belong to Jesus. We can call this “baptism of desire” or “anonymous Christianity”, but somehow that person has received a grace (like the heat and light of the flame) which, while not yet the full grace of sacramental baptism, unites him in some way to Christ and therefore to the Church.
While Christ and His Church may have many enemies in the world, they also have many friends of goodwill who may not even be Christians or believers, but who feel open in their hearts to Jesus and the Church. Of course, these people are called to faith and to baptism and we are called to evangelize one and all, in season and out of season. Yet we cannot pre-empt the ways of God, His sovereign will in terms of granting the grace of faith. We can sense, intuit that a person, a family, a group in society is living a fine life of virtue, worthy of Christ and the Church, perhaps even worthier than our own life. Yet unless God grants the gift of faith, a gift about which we must speak to them and witness to them, they are not yet ready to enter into visible communion with the Catholic Church. There may indeed be others to whom the gift of faith is offered, but if they refuse, and pay no heed to that grace or to our witness, then God will judge them according to His supreme knowledge of their hearts. At any rate, wherever someone is “seeking the Lord with a sincere heart”, as we say in the Fourth Eucharistic Prayer, the Lord Himself and the Church, which is always present with Him, is also present in some way in the life of that person. In other words, the Catholic Church is as present, as active and as free flowing as is the Spirit of Jesus, for the Spirit does not act without Jesus and Jesus does not act without associating the Church with Himself. Ultimately, at least on the Last Day, all these individuals, religions, separated brethren and we ourselves will be united explicitly and definitively with Christ and all will confess His Name on bended knee to the Glory of God the Father. But for now, we must have this clear understanding of the Church as Vatican II explains it to us, so that we do not fall into the elitist mentality of John in today’s Gospel and also so that we do not fail to fulfill our mission to witness effectively to Christ in His Church. This is the way to attract others to enter into full communion with the visible Church, the sign and sacrament of salvation of the entire human race.
A few words on the second part of today’s Gospel where Jesus warns, perhaps especially those who consider themselves among the elite that belong to Him, against the real threat to the Church’s unity. Jesus spells it out as sin which causes people to lose faith in Him. The “little ones” may indeed refer to children, but certainly are meant all of those who are simple and trusting of heart and who look to Jesus as their Lord and Savior. The sin he refers to is any sin at all, because all sin weakens the commitment to Jesus both of the one who sins and of us all. There is no such thing as a private sin; all sin is public in its effects because all sin strikes at the heart of the bond between all believers and the Lord. That is why we must confess our sin to the Church and to Christ: for Christ and the Church form but one Body. A sin against Christ is by that very fact a sin against the whole Church.
So serious is sin, so dangerous to the life of the Church, that Jesus uses the extreme hyperbole of recommending self-maiming rather than putting ourselves at the risk of eternal, spiritual maiming in “Gehenna” because of our sins. Such sin is all the more heinous and scandalous when it is committed by those who claim to be closely associated with Jesus. Remember that scandal in the Bible is not so much about psychological shock: it refers much more seriously to the act of causing others to lose hope in eternal life, of making such a mockery of Jesus by our words or actions as to make Him appear absurd and unworthy of our faith. Our minds turn almost immediately to the recent scandal of pedophile, committed and to some degree tolerated, albeit with good intentions, by those who ought most in the Church to stir and inspire our hope in Jesus. Our hope for these people is that Jesus will lead them to understand profoundly what they have done and, to the degree that they have sinned (for at least some of them may be more sick than sinful), lead them by the power of His healing grace to true repentance and, according to His merciful justice, to appropriate expiation for their sins. It seems to me, however, that there is another class of people who may cause the little ones to sin and lead them into scandal. These are people who imply, if not openly declare, that they are close to Christ and His Church, and who make a public profession of what they say is their Catholic faith, but who then proceed to justify and defend as acceptable forms of behavior which are contrary to the Truth of Christ and His Church. It would not surprise me if some of these people were among the first to wring their hands in outrage at the pedophile misdemeanors of the clergy, but who would do little if anything to defend the life of the unborn, the unjustly condemned, the institution of marriage according to Christ’s own creative plan and a whole host of other issues of social morality ranging from the dignity of minorities to the true dignity of the dying. In fact, in the name of a false pluralism and of a questionable interpretation of the separation of Church and State, they might do quite the contrary and think it worthy of divine approval! Perhaps more should be done and said to ask such people if they are even aware, if they are at all conscious of the contradiction, the apparent hypocrisy or the real scandal of their public posturing, and to challenge them to take the radical measures of change which Jesus describes with stinging hyperbole in the Gospel of today. Is moral truth continually to be sacrificed on the altar of politics? Is it reasonable or responsible to let them just carry on, by simply saying “they are just playing politics”? That is a decision which those entrusted with the responsibility for it must take, and we must try and be confident that whatever their decision, it will be taken according to the mind of Christ and the Church. At the same time, we must pray the Lord to touch the hearts of these people and convince them to stop and take stock of what they are really doing and of what He is really saying to them, through the Church, in the depths of their hearts and consciences. For indeed, who needs enemies outside the Church when, alas, amongst ourselves are those who, for worldly gain, deal Her many a crippling and debilitating blow by scandalize ing the little ones and making themselves arbiters of the teaching authority of the Church and of Christ Himself?
Be that as it may, we rejoice in the power and desire of Our Savior to save all men and women. We pray Him humbly: to enable us to be firm and intrepid members of his Holy Catholic Church; to remain open and grateful for the manifold ways in which She is present in Him and in His Spirit to the lives and hearts of so many who have not joined us – at least not yet; and to enable all of us who call ourselves Catholics to be so in the courage and boldness of the truth and not only in name.
posted by Mike Young @ 6:03 AM
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