In or Out

26th Sunday in Ordinary Time

30 September 2018

First reading                                                                  Numbers 11:25-29
Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and took some of the spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders; and when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied. But they did not do so again. Two men stayed in the camp, one named Eldad, and the other named Medad, and the spirit rested on them; they were among those registered, but they had not gone out to the tent, and so they prophesied in the camp. And a young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.” And Joshua son of Nun, the assistant of Moses, one of his chosen men, said, “My lord Moses, stop them!” But Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit on them!”

Second reading                                                     James 5:1-6

Come now, you rich people, weep and wail for the miseries that are coming to you. Your riches have rotted, and your clothes are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have rusted, and their rust will be evidence against you, and it will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure for the last days. Listen! The wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You have lived on the earth in luxury and in pleasure; you have fattened your hearts in a day, slaughter. You have condemned and murdered the righteous one, who does not resist you.

Gospel                                                                     Mark 9:38-43, 45, 47-48

John said to Jesus, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.” But Jesus said, “Do not stop him; for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. Whoever is not against us is for us. For truly I tell you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward.

“If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea. If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and to be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into hell, where their worm never dies, and the fire is never quenched.”

Reflection

By Art B. Reyes

Jesus speaks about humility, tolerance, and love for our fellowmen. He is teaching us to embrace and welcome each other regardless of our race, denomination, and status in life.

In our gospel for this Sunday there is another lesson for all of us. The disciples complain to Jesus because they saw someone casting out devils in Jesus’ name. They tried to stop him “because he was not one of us”. When John told Jesus that there were group of people driving out demons in His name, he perhaps was expecting that Jesus would condemn them. Instead, He says “Do not prevent them, 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.”

This is a strong message that we need to reflect on. No denomination, race, or status in life has the exclusivity of God’s saving grace. Several religions claim that no good can be done in the world except through their ways and beliefs. They are so close-minded that they cannot imagine on working on any other pattern other than what they believe on.

Have you noticed how the beggars in the street bow their heads, as if they wouldn't like their faces seen by the people passing by? In contrast, I am certain that you observe that most people in power are overflowing with ego, their heads up high. It is so tempting to distance ourselves from people that don’t belong to our circle, people that are not on our “level”.

We need to embrace everyone for God’s love has no boundary. He doesn't look at how we pray, how we do good deeds, or how big of a money we give to the Church. God examines our hearts. Humility is a way to reshape our hearts that are deformed by our egocentric and selfish ways.

Let us all slowdown and pause. When everything is rushed, we don't take notice of the people surrounding us. We don't see the goodness in them. By slowing down, we can find time to selflessly look outside of ourselves. And by taking a pause, we can find opportunity to love.

Prayer

Lord, grant us the virtue of true humility. Allow us to not be filled with pride, jealousy, or boastful gestures toward our brothers and sisters. Fill our hearts with love, joy, peace and happiness to the praise of Your glory. Amen.