September 30, 2012

A Message from Fr. Pete

Bulletin September 30, 2012 26^th Sunday in Ordinary Time B

Numbers 11:25-29; James 5:1-6; Mark 9:38-43, 45, 47-48

So how am I living the life of God within me? Am I concerned with the ‘me’ in me or the God in me? Do I let the God out or is it the’ me’ that constantly comes up? Am I jealous for God or am I jealous? Jesus is making a number of important and very practical points that are important for me to reflect on. These points show me that with God’s always available grace, I have Jesus as a model to live the life He created me to be and needs me to be.
Now John today comes to Jesus as the spokesperson for the apostles and was upset: evidently they thought that healing in the name of Jesus was reserved to them, no one else. This is very interesting because just 20 verses before in this same chapter they had tried to cast out an evil spirit in a possessed boy, and they couldn’t. They asked Jesus why they couldn’t and He said, “This kind can only come out through prayer.” (Mark 9:29). The footnote in the Catholic Study Bible explains this so beautifully: “The disciples’ failure to effect a cure seems to reflect unfavorably on Jesus. In response Jesus exposes their lack of trust in God and scores their lack of prayer, i.e. of conscious reliance on God’s power when acting in Jesus’ name.” So I reflect on myself, do I see that it’s only with God’s grace that I can be His minister? It is all about God, always. The first reading from Numbers brings this out. When Moses needed help with the ruling of the people, we hear of the institution of the seventy elders. God gave them the same spirit of leadership and prophecy that He gave Moses. Even though two were not present when this happened, they too received it. The main point of the reading is that God’s choice is not a personal privilege to be guarded jealously, but a call to serve His people.
The gospel puts more flesh to this scene, when they came on a man who was not part of them and he was healing in the name of Jesus. They tried to stop him. Why? Because they were jealous; they felt that they had ‘the’ special relationship with Jesus. It’s not about jealousy, but about tolerance and openness to the Spirit and gratefulness in seeing the Spirit’s gifts in people that I encounter each day. I read somewhere that “the person who is different from me does not diminish me but enriches me.” Do I allow this to happen or do I get in God’s way? I do not have a monopoly on God, no one does. It’s about gratitude about seeing God’s gifts all over.
Another point is that Jesus spoke about “anyone who gives you a cup of water”; this seems like a symbol of a small kind deed. But what Jesus is telling me is about my giving which is necessary in being His follower. Seldom during the day am I given the chance to perform a ‘great deed’ but the chance to ‘give a cup of water’ can come up several times each day. Am I aware of the giving grace that the Spirit gives? A small act of kindness is what has changed so many people’s lives, mine included.

Then Jesus deals with the sin of scandal which causes others to sin. He gives the example of one who would lead astray any of the little ones who believe in Him. And ‘little ones’ really can include so many. But just look at the crimes committed against children today whether through neglect or abuse; Jesus’ warning is stern, am I listening? This leads me to all sin within me: am I doing anything at all to rid myself of those evil intents, desires, thoughts that I hold on to because ‘I like to’? “Connections, a resource for Homilists”, says, “But Jesus makes clear that discipleship demands that no evil or sin is too “big” to dissuade us or derail us in our search for the things of God. Christ calls us not to allow the pursuit of prestige, wealth, social status or instant gratification desensitize us to the presence of God in our lives or diminish the love of God we cherish in family and friends.” God is worth any sacrifice.

And then Jesus talked about hell. So many say well, ‘Jesus loves everyone and how could He send anyone to hell?’ He doesn’t; people send themselves. Hell exists; Jesus said that; He compared it to Gehenna which was a ravine south of Jerusalem, outside the ‘Old City.” At one time infants were sacrificed there to Moloch, a Canaanite god in the Old Testament associated with human sacrifice. Josiah, whom the Bible praises as the greatest king since David, put an end to its use for worship, and later it was used as a dump for refuse which had continual fires. As always, Jesus words me much food for thought. Am I listening? So I reflect on:

• How is my faith life going? Am I continuing to grow?
  
• When the ‘well runs dry’ what am I doing in order to allow God to regain my focus on Him?
  
• When I fail, do I think that God judges me as harshly as I do myself? Do I allow myself to learn from my failures? Do I let God lead me in this?
  

Mark, A Devotional Commentary, helps me: “Our redemption should astound us. How comforting to realize that it is Jesus who saves us, not our attempts to stop sinning. The more the Holy Spirit teaches us about the sin that is within us, the more we will stand amazed at Jesus’ love and mercy. He knew how completely we had turned our backs on God, and yet He chose to die for us anyway. Jesus is looking for servants who recognize their sins and limitations, and yet who love Him so deeply that they don’t ever want to offend Him or lead His people astray. He wants servants who turn from sin by turning to Jesus in repentance and trust.

The closer we come to Jesus, the humbler we become. And the humbler we become, the more He can entrust us with His work. It is really a privilege to serve such a wonderful God. Let’s bind ourselves closer to Him and allow His love to keep us humble and simple.”