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Twenty sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Readings for 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Reading 1 Num 11:25-29

Responsorial Psalm Ps 19:8, 10, 12-13, 14
R. The precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart.

Reading II Jas 5:1-6

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

Reflection:

As we listen to the scripture in our hearts today we hear a faint voice that tries to explain why the world is like it is today. By this we are referring to the terrible bloodshed and constant violence in the Middle East. We are at a loss to understand how this distaff set of brothers and sisters can have cultivated such hatred.

As we hear the voice of the young man say to Moses; "Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp, " and we hear Moses reply; "Are you jealous for my sake?" we can begin to understand. We hear the parallel passage from the Gospel of Mark as the disciples are upset, "Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name, and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow us." Jesus said the same thing Moses had said couched in different terms.

When a people feel that the will of others is being imposed upon them and a sense of helplessness comes over them, they turn to God and ask for help. Just as those servants of Moses and Jesus came to them for guidance. This was certainly the case in Palestine when the land that had been part of another country was appropriated by the world powers who had just won World War II. We understand the guilt and sympathy that drove the decision. We also understand the Judeo-Christian history that selected that part of the world to establish the Jewish Homeland. Why then can we not understand that helpless and hopeless people grasp at the hand of violence that is out-stretched from an Old Testament tradition we share (see Gen 21;9ff)?

Many of them, especially the young, must feel that the situation is unjust and if no one will listen, they will use the only weapon they have, their lives. The wound has been festering since 1947 when the state of Israel was officially recognized (few now remember the fierce fighting that took place as the Arab inhabitants tried to fight off that decision). Few of us in the United States remember the establishment of the Palestinian refugee camps as the huge influx of Hebrew refugees from all over the world were poured into the region, in many cases, displacing the people who had owned the land for generations. Is it any wonder there is hatred and violence?

What we have identified above does not mean we somehow approve of Islamic extremists. There are other less noble reasons for people to take up arms in the region and we will not go into the economics here. What we do need to do is understand the plight of the region so we can attempt to do what Christ asks us to; love one another. There is no time that is more difficult than when dealing with a people driven by hatred and ready to kill indiscriminately for an ideal that has been twisted.

Christ knew there would be attacks; he knew that there would always be resistance to the message of peace and love he preached. He told his disciples; "For whoever is not against us is for us." He also told us that we were not to sink to the level of those who corrupt the young. He pretty forcefully pointed out that what we needed to do was follow his commandments and not react to others; a very difficult task in the world today. We must try because that is what we are called to do. And we must use our democratic system to try to put leaders in place who will echo those sentiments. If we do not participate in the process then we have not right to point at others who did and complain about the elected leadership.

Pax