Sunday, September 26, 2021
Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
First Reading: Numbers 11: 25-29
Second Reading: James 5: 1-6
Gospel: Mark 9: 38-43, 45, 47-48
In the first reading today, Moses, overwhelmed in service of the people of God, complained to God for help. God tells him to gather 70 elders of Israel and bring them to the tent of meeting. The tent of meeting was the makeshift temple, God’s dwelling place while they were still in the wilderness. God tells him He will take some of the spirit in him and put it on them so that they can help him bear the burden of leading the people.
When the spirit came upon them, not all 70 were present in the tent of meeting. 2 elders, Eldad and Medad were absent. Nevertheless, they received the spirit just as those who were in the tent of meeting. Joshua, who is to succeed Moses as leader of the people took offense and asked Moses to stop them, because they don’t belong.
Something similar happened in the Gospel today. The Apostles saw a man driving out demons in the name of Jesus, rather than being happy about it, they took offense and tried to stop him because according to John, “he does not follow us.” But Jesus replied, “No one who performs a mighty deed in my name can at the same time speak ill of me. For whoever is not against us is for us.” The lesson from the first reading and the Gospel reading is very clear and informs the Catholic Church’s position concerning salvation outside the Church.
The ordinary way of salvation is first of all, faith in Jesus Christ, baptism and membership in the Church. The Catholic Church admits the possibility of salvation outside the Church and the ordinary means of salvation. The Church is aware of countless men and women who through no fault of their own, have never heard the proclamation of the Gospel, or have heard it in an improper way that made it difficult to accept. The Spirit of God like the wind blows where He wills and the Second Vatican Council in the document on the Church in the modern world, Gaudium et Spes no. 22 said, “the Holy Spirit offers everyone the possibility in a way known only to God, to be associated to with the paschal mystery of Christ and so be saved.”
This does not suggest a change in the doctrines of the Church. Jesus is the only mediator and savior of the human race. No one is saved apart from his redeeming death. Jesus requires at least two things from those outside his Church. First, that they are not against Him, i.e., they do not positively combat the faith and its values. Second, if they are unable to love and serve God, they should at least be able to love and serve His image, in the needy. He says, “whoever gives you a cup of water because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose his reward. Does it then mean we are no longer to preach the Gospel ad extra? Of course not. The Church offers us a sure way to salvation and reveals to us how sweet it is to love and serve Jesus Christ.
Jesus said, if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off, if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and if your eye causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed than to have your whole body and enter into the fires of hell. What do we make of this? It is safe to say that Jesus is serious about sin, causing another to sin or pulling another down. The devil could not stop the two elder who remained in the camp from receiving the Spirit, so he tried to entice the Israelites to quench the Spirit through jealousy. In the Gospel, the demons could not prevent a man using the name of Jesus to expel them. They tried to stop him through jealousy. Jealousy is such a bad thing. Jesus is against jealous people who are sad at others’ successes. He tells us, if you are jealous of other people’s hands, what they can do, cut off your own hands rather than remain rooted in jealousy and pull down another. If you are jealous of other people’s speed, their strength and health, cut off your feet. If you are jealous of other people’s looks and what they have, tear out your eyes for it is better to be without eyes than to have them and remain rooted in jealousy and pull another down. In Galatians 5: 20 -21, St Paul lists jealousy as one of the works of the flesh and insists that the jealous will not inherit the kingdom of God.
In the second reading today, St James asks us not to amass wealth or fame. Nothing will count in the end except our faithfulness to God. Discipleship is not a competition; it is not a popularity contest or about who has more gifts of the Spirit. It is all about faithfulness to Jesus. Stop the gladiatorial fights.
You may have heard about the Monk Telemachus. We don’t confuse him with Telemachus the son of Odysseus and Penelope in Greek mythology who contrived with his father to slay his mother’s suitors. The Monk Telemachus lived in the 5th century. According to the Church historian, Theodoret, bishop of Cyrus in Syria (393-457), he was led by an inner voice to go to Rome without knowing why. On reaching Rome he saw so much excitement and people were going to the coliseum. He asked what is going on and they told him, it is a day of fight of the gladiators at the coliseum. He followed the crowd to the coliseum. Inside the coliseum, he heard the people shouting, “Hail to Caesar!” “We die for Caesar!” He thought this isn’t right. Then two gladiators came out and started fighting. Telemachus tried to get between them and stop the abominable spectacle, he shouted, “in the name of Christ, forbear.” The crowd inspired by the fury of the demons who delight in those bloody fights, stoned the peacemaker to death. When the Emperor of Rome, Honorius heard about the monk, he declared him a Christian martyr and put an end to the games. The last gladiatorial game was the one in which Telemachus died.
It’s over 1600 years the gladiatorial games ended in Rome. Sometimes it seems we still have gladiatorial games going on in the Church and our communities. The liturgy today invites us to pray that we overcome every tendency to jealousy and be docile to the Spirit whose way surpasses our way and understanding, that all may be filled with the gifts of the Spirit and that all may share in the kingdom of God.
God bless you
Rev. Fr. Chidi Onwuka MSSCC