XXVI Sunday of the Year

STIFLE NOT THE SPIRIT

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

Readings for the XXVI Sunday of the Year

Some years ago, during Cricket Australia’s tour of India, Matthew Hayden was to return home after the test series. But he performed brilliantly in the tests and the selectors added him to the ODI squad. Some argued that he shouldn’t have been included because he wasn’t in the original squad. That didn’t matter for Cricket Australia; what mattered was Hayden was a good player in good form. They didn’t stifle Hayden, and it paid off.

This episode gives a sound principle to build the “God Squad”. It shouldn’t matter whether one was part of the original team or not; all that matters: is God’s Spirit in him/her?

The liturgy invites to recognize that God’s Spirit works in all people of good will and to co-operate with it.

In the First Reading, Joshua asks Moses to stop Eldad and Medad from prophesying because they were not part of the “in-group”. In the Gospel, Jesus’ disciples stop a man driving out demons in his name because he was not one of them. Moses’ and Jesus’ responses are instructive! They taught their followers to recognize God’s work inside and outside the immediate community; kingdom work is not reserved to a few chosen ones; it is for all people of good will. To refuse to recognize that people of other faiths are doing the work of God or to stop them is to deny the working of the Spirit in these people.

 

The world is saturated with the Spirit of God. 

Can I open my eyes to the good that others do, recognize God’s spirit working in them, and co-operate with them? 

May I cooperate with (and not stifle) the Spirit and believe that there is place for every person of goodwill in “God’s Squad”!

XXV Sunday of the Year

WELCOME LITTLENESS

Wisdom 2:12, 17-20; James 3:16—4:3; Mark 9:30-37

Readings for the XXV Sunday of the Year

An oft-repeated anecdote to start! A fisherman was carrying his catch of crabs in an open basket. A passer-by remarked: “Aren’t you afraid the crabs will crawl out?” The fisherman replied: “No! Do you know anything about the behaviour of crabs? Watch!” As a crab crawled towards the top of the basket, the others pulled the climber down. This kept happening! The crabs would not allow the others to climb towards the top.

It’s not just crabs that pull one another down. We do the same because of jealousy and selfish ambition. 

Today’s readings address these two foibles that destroy people.

In the second reading, St James writes: “Where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every foul practice.” He lists the reason for war and conflict: unsatisfied craving.

The first reading from the Book of Wisdom is an inside-view of how selfish minds work and illustrates the extremes to which jealousy and selfish ambition can lead a person when confronted by a “righteous man”. 

It’s the same in the gospel. The religious leaders are jealous of Jesus, the righteous man; his virtue is an examination of conscience for them! He predicts that they will hand him over to torturers. 

Jealousy and selfish ambition destroy people and community. Jesus smells these foibles enter his fledgling church! He has just instructed his disciples on his passion, but suffering does not fit into their perspective of the kingdom. They are busy discussing their great positions in the kingdom. 

Jesus nips this one in the bud. He puts a child in their midst and challenges the twelve to welcome him/her. When they can welcome “littleness,” they welcome him.

In effect, Jesus compares himself to the child who cannot resort to power tactics when threatened. On the road to Jerusalem, in the face of suffering and death, he can only turn to his Father in trust; this makes him vulnerable.

When we are righteous and live upright lives, we can be sure that people will pull us down. The challenge before us: 

Will I give in to jealousy and selfish ambition? Will I resort to power tactics or will I welcome the vulnerability of a child?

How will I welcome and accept the child part of my personality, and become less power-conscious and success-oriented?

XXIV Sunday of the Year

WHO IS CHRIST? WHO IS A DISCIPLE?

Isaiah 50:5-9a; James 2:14-18; Mark 8:27-35

Readings for the XXIV Sunday of the Year

Before joining an organization, prospective members need to know the organization’s identity-mission and their job profile.

Likewise, to belong to the “organization” of Jesus, disciples need to know Jesus’ identity and mission, and the profile of a disciple. 

Today’s readings set out in clear, unambiguous terms the answers to these questions.

The Gospel is the mid-point of Mark’s Gospel. 

The first part of the Gospel revealed Jesus as the Messiah who mediates God’s power by teaching and healing with authority. It reaches its climax with Peter’s faith declaration: “You are the Christ.” 

The second part will reveal the kind of a Messiah Jesus is and will be: one who must suffer, be rejected, and be killed. Must! There is a necessity about his suffering and death. Jesus is not a glorious king or a military leader; he is the suffering servant. The revelation of his identity culminates on Calvary when the centurion looks at Jesus on the cross and says: “This was the Son of God.” The crucified Jesus is the Son of God.

The first reading forms a backdrop for the Gospel. It highlights the resoluteness of Yahweh’s servant in facing the suffering that comes his way as a prophet.

But suffering has no place in Peter’s idea of messiahship. He rebukes Jesus, who tells him to take his place as a disciple – behind the Master! The disciple must take up the cross, lose his/her small-fearful-insecure self, and follow Jesus. Being a disciple necessarily involves suffering.

Messiahship and discipleship are not only about suffering. Jesus is convinced that he will be raised from the dead. He promises his disciples that if they die to themselves, they will find life in communion with God.

We are not prospective disciples; we already belong to Jesus. We need to be clear about his identity-mission and our profile. 

Who is Jesus for me: is he merely a wonderworker/ healer? 

How do I see discipleship: as a taking up of my cross and following Jesus along the Via Dolorosa? Am I willing to accept pain and suffering and the grief of life?

XXIII Sunday of the Year

FACETIME OR “FACE-TO-FACE” TIME?

Isaiah 35:4-7a; James 2:1-5; Mark 7:31-37

Readings for the XXIII Sunday of the Year

The great paradox of our time is that we live in an age of social communication, but we rarely communicate; we have hundreds of social-network friends but few real-life friends; we FaceTime with people, but seldom spend “face-to-face” time with them. We encounter/ create barriers to communication.

Jesus faced similar communication barriers in his ministry. 

Throughout his ministry, Jesus has been pleading with people to listen to his word. They do not! The disciples cannot understand his teaching, the crowds want wonders, his own people do not accept him, the religious leaders see him as a threat. Mark presents group after group with its spiritual blocks.

Then, Mark presents a man “who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech.” He wants to but cannot communicate. Jesus takes him aside away from the crowd and spends time with him; he communicates with him through touch, a language he could understand. Jesus gives him back his ability to communicate – he can hear, he proclaims Jesus.

There is a parallel between the deaf-mute and Jesus’ disciples. The man could neither hear nor speak; he needed healing. The disciples could not understand Jesus’ message and therefore could not proclaim it; they, too, needed healing.

We need to be healed of our spiritual deafness and muteness. 

Will I allow the Lord to take me aside to touch me? Will I move away from the crowd (of people and gadgets) to spend time with my loved ones and communicate in a language they understand?

May the Lord touch us and restore our ability to communicate. May we disconnect from the virtual world – at least sometimes – to connect with people and reality around us.