Catechism Links[1]
CCC 821,
1126, 1636: ecumenical dialogue
CCC 2445-2446,
2536, 2544-2446: the danger of immoderate riches
CCC 1852:
jealousy
 |
| “Christ Blessing the Children” by Lucas Cranach the Younger, 1540s |
Reading 1: Numbers
11:25-29
The LORD came down in the
cloud and spoke to Moses.
Taking some of the spirit
that was on Moses,
the LORD bestowed it on the
seventy elders;
and as the spirit came to
rest on them, they prophesied.
Now two men, one named Eldad
and the other Medad,
were not in the gathering but
had been left in the camp.
They too had been on the
list, but had not gone out to the tent;
yet the spirit came to rest
on them also,
and they prophesied in the
camp.
So, when a young man quickly
told Moses,
"Eldad and Medad are
prophesying in the camp, "
Joshua, son of Nun, who from
his youth had been Moses’aide, said,
"Moses, my lord, stop
them."
But Moses answered him,
"Are you jealous for my
sake?
Would that all the people of
the LORD were prophets!
Would that the LORD might
bestow his spirit on them all!"
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Nm 11:25-29
This experience of God
sending his spirit upon the seventy Hebrew Elders is set in the midst of the
desert narratives. The people have been
fed with manna and now there was a demand for meat. God imparts to the chosen seventy some of the
prophetic charism of Moses. This gift
was not prophetic in terms of foreseeing the future but rather an enthusiasm or
charismatic expression of faith in God seen elsewhere in the early Hebrew
history and the Christian writings as well (see 1
Samuel 10:10-12; 1
Samuel 19:20-22 and Acts
2:6-11, 17; 19:6; 1 Corinthians 12-14).
Joshua’s loyalty to Moses
causes him to challenge the charismatic exhortations of Eldad and Medad, seeing
their spiritual awakening as an affront because they were not with the others,
attending Moses, when the spirit came upon them. Moses sees the hand of God upon them and in a
prefigurement of Jesus actions in Mark
9:39, cautions him against jealousy
in God’s work.
CCC: Nm 11:24-25 1541
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm
19:8, 10, 12-13, 14
R. (9a) The precepts of the Lord give joy to the
heart.
The law of the LORD is
perfect,
refreshing the soul;
the decree of the LORD is
trustworthy,
giving wisdom to the simple.
R. The precepts of the
Lord give joy to the heart.
The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever;
the ordinances of the LORD
are true,
all of them just.
R. The precepts of the
Lord give joy to the heart.
Though your servant is
careful of them,
very diligent in keeping
them,
Yet who can detect failings?
Cleanse me from my unknown
faults!
R. The precepts of the
Lord give joy to the heart.
From wanton sin especially,
restrain your servant;
let it not rule over me.
Then shall I be blameless and
innocent
of serious sin.
R. The precepts of the
Lord give joy to the heart.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 19:8, 10, 12-13, 14
Psalm 19 is a hymn of praise.
In this passage we give praise to God’s gift of the Law which guides us in our
daily lives. The hymn also extols the virtue of obedience and steadfastness to
the Law and its precepts.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reading II: James
5:1-6
Come now, you rich, weep and
wail over your impending miseries.
Your wealth has rotted away,
your clothes have become moth-eaten,
your gold and silver have
corroded,
and that corrosion will be a
testimony against you;
it will devour your flesh
like a fire.
You have stored up treasure
for the last days.
Behold, the wages you
withheld from the workers
who harvested your fields are
crying aloud;
and the cries of the
harvesters
have reached the ears of the
Lord of hosts.
You have lived on earth in
luxury and pleasure;
you have fattened your hearts
for the day of slaughter.
You have condemned;
you have murdered the
righteous one;
he offers you no resistance.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Jas 5:1-6
St. James reminds
his audience of the importance of building up spiritual riches rather than
secular wealth. This passage could be a
commentary on the parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man (see Luke
16:19-31). The transitory nature of wealth is decried
(“…Your wealth has rotted away, your
clothes have become moth-eaten, your gold and silver have corroded”) and
God’s coming justice for the poor is predicted (“…the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of
hosts.”)
CCC: Jas 5:1-6 2445;
Jas 5:4 1867,
2409, 2434
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gospel: Mark
9:38-43, 45, 47-48
At 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 if 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
than with two eyes to be
thrown into Gehenna,
where 'their worm does not
die, and the fire is not quenched.'"
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Mk 9:38-43, 45, 47-48
This section from St. Mark’s Gospel provides an important attitude in
Jesus’ teaching. He warns the disciples about jealousy and intolerance toward
others who use the Lord’s name but are not traveling with them. “For whoever is not against us is for
us.” The Lord finishes his
warning saying that those who call people to faith in him, even if they do not
walk with the disciples are friends. He
then speaks of those who would lead the people away from him. He uses the “Little Child” as a symbol of the
weak in spirit and the poor. Those that lead them astray, or who are tempted to
do so, should resist such temptation at any price or they will find an eternal
punishment waiting for them.
CCC: Mk 9:43-48 1034
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reflection:
What is there about God that
causes people to think that they can “posses” him exclusively? On the surface, that seems to be what is
taking place in the book of Numbers with Joshua and with the disciples in the
Gospel of St. Mark.
In Moses’ case, God has
called seventy elders to receive what certainly looks like the Holy Spirit
(although we cannot make that leap because that gift was not bestowed until the
Son of God left it as the new advocate at Pentecost). We are told that God took “…some of the spirit that was on Moses, the LORD bestowed it on the
seventy elders” [5]. The issue
arises because all seventy are not present; Eldad and Medad had remained in
camp instead of coming to the gathering called by Moses. We are told that even though they were not
with the others, the spirit came upon them as well and they began to proclaim
God’s presence and mercy in the camp.
Seeing this (or hearing about
it) Moses’ young apprentice Joshua becomes indignant and asks (demands) that
Moses stop them. Since they were not
with Moses when God acted, Joshua either thinks they are not influenced by the
same event or that they may challenge Moses for spiritual leadership of the
people. Regardless of his thoughts or
motives; Moses, great Prophet of God, laments that all the people did not
receive the same spirit; wishing that all Hebrews would receive the call to
prophesy in the same way.
In St.
Mark’s Gospel we find Jesus instructing the disciples who had just come to him
asking who would be greatest when the Lord assumed his kingly mantle. Jesus sees a pecking order developing among
his closest friends and immediately rebukes them. No sooner has he corrected their attitudes on
this score than they come to him jealously complaining that someone else
(outside the chosen group) was using his name to drive out demonic spirits.
This was probably a very sore point for them as, at this juncture in the
Gospel, they had just encountered a demonic spirit they could not exorcise (Mark
9:20-30) and Jesus had to take them
aside telling them “This kind can only come
out through prayer."
This attitude of jealousy and
petty rivalry must have been upsetting to the Lord who was faced with bringing
the whole world to understand the love of God and the salvation that could only
come through his Only Son. He tells them
(probably with a tinge of disappointment) that anyone who helps the cause,
doing good works in the name of Jesus must be seen as an ally not as
competition.
These two examples are
received with great difficulty among those called to do God’s work. We see it among individuals possessively
competing for leadership of ministerial programs. We see it among groups, jealous of the
success of other groups seeking the same goals; be those goals in missionary
work, charity, or even vocations to religious life. We leave it to you to site specific examples,
but the underlying problem is the all too human desire for power over others by
a person or group. It is not restricted to the Catholic Church or even
Christian denominations. However, it is
most inappropriate in those organizations; all of whom profess to be doing
Christ’s work on earth.
Today we call out in prayer
to all Christians to look with the eyes of Christ at the attitudes and
interactions they have with others. Hold
those attitudes up to the light of today’s Gospel and see if Christ’s words “whoever is not against us is for us” rings in our ears.
Today, the Lord calls out for Christian unity.
Pax
In other years on this date: Memorial of Saint Vincent De Paul, Priest
[1]
Catechism links are taken from the Homiletic Directory, Published by the
Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, 29 June
2014
[2]
S.S
Commemoratio
[3]
The picture is “Christ Blessing the Children” by Lucas Cranach the Younger,
1540s
[4]
The readings are taken from the New American Bible with the exception of the
Psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for
English in Liturgy (ICEL). This
re-publication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[5]
Note – in this translation, the use of upper case fonts for LORD and GOD
indicates the actual reference to God was made in the un-translated texts (e.g.
Yahweh, El, or Elohim).
No comments:
Post a Comment