Sept 27 will be 26th Sunday: Num 11:25-29. Jas 5:1-6. Mk 9:38-43, 45, 47-48. The Gospel this weekend is this: Mk 9:38-43, 45, 47-48. There was a man in the crowd who cried out, "Teacher, I beg you, look at my son; he is my only child. 39 For a spirit seizes him and he suddenly screams and it convulses him until he foams at the mouth; it releases him only with difficulty, wearing him out. 40 I begged your disciples to cast it out but they could not." 41 Jesus said in reply, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long will I be with you and endure you? Bring your son here." 42 As he was coming forward, the demon threw him to the ground in a convulsion; but Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the boy, and returned him to his father. 43 And all were astonished by the majesty of God. While they were all amazed at his every deed, he spoke to his disciples… 45 But they did not understand this saying; its meaning was hidden from them so that they should not understand it, and they were afraid to ask him about this saying… 47 Jesus realized the intention of their hearts and took a child and placed it by his side 48 and said to them, "Whoever receives this child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. For the one who is least among all of you is the one who is the greatest." The first reading is this: Num 11:25-29. The LORD then came down in the cloud and spoke to him. Taking some of the spirit that was on Moses, he bestowed it on the seventy elders; and as the spirit came to rest on them, they prophesied. 26 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. 27 So, when a young man quickly told Moses, "Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp," 28 Joshua, son of Nun, who from his youth had been Moses' aide, said, "Moses, my lord, stop them." 29 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!" The second reading is this: Jas 5:1-6. Come now, you rich, weep and wail over your impending miseries. 2 Your wealth has rotted away, your clothes have become moth-eaten, 3 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. 4 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 h+osts. 5 You have lived on earth in luxury and pleasure; you have fattened your hearts for the day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned; you have murdered the righteous one; he offers you no resistance. * MEDITATION: The readings this Sunday remind us that it's God who chooses the people through whom He wants to act, and it's not for us to judge God's choices. It's also calling us to follow Christ himself rather than just following other people. Therefore it's our own selves that we should try to judge! That’s why God gives us consciences. I’m glad to be a Roman Catholic but that’s because it helps me to be a Christian. My fundamental option is for Christ. The second reading asks the rich to judge if they've been selfish. Christ doesn't want to punish that demon either, but He wants to save people from the unhappiness of being a slave to that demon. The Apostle John complains to Jesus about people 'casting out demons' in his name, and Jesus tells him not to complain. For us all, the role of casting out demons may seem to be a role confined to Jesus himself and not to us, (or it may sound like some fictional 'exorcist' movie), but I think it symbolises the task of overcoming selfishness and evil throughout the world, and that's a task that involves us all. It takes many forms. One thing for which it's asking is for us to be 'ecumenical' - to respect that from East to West, whether officially Roman Catholic or not, we're all learning. The second Vatican Council was an 'Ecumenical' council. It's important to seek unity. Remember the origin of our Church: 'When the day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place... 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues...' (Acts 2:1-5). I was lucky to learn several different languages in my youth. The Bible refers several times to the divine plan for us all to understand each other. It starts with the sad story of the Tower of Babel (Gen 11) where mankind proudly wanted to make their own way 'to heaven'. The tower fell and they all started speaking different languages. It's not history - it's a symbol. So let's stop 'babbling'! At the other end, after the Resurrection of Christ, it says (Acts 2) the Christians from different regions with different languages all understood each other! The name 'catholic' as in Catholic Church actually means 'universal'. In other words we don't want nationality, culture, or differing traditions to be any barrier to our unity as the family of God. The Irish nation was once totally ignorant of the Christian 'Good News' and it took a captured slave from the east called Patrick to return from his escape and 'open the door' for us. Saint Patrick is now our patron saint and I wish his memory every March 17 were much more than an excuse for street parades and late-night drinking. I wish it inspired us all to follow his example. My name 'Dara' in the Irish language means 'oak tree', but I'm a twig on a branch of a branch of a branch! - the male branch of a community of the Catholic church which is a branch of the family of God. 'Catholic' does mean 'universal', so think of what the Bible says: 'God wants all mankind to be saved and to come to know the truth' (1Tim 2:4)... and all means all!. Jesus says (John 12:31) "When I am lifted up from the earth I will draw all men to myself"... (Jn10:11-16) "I will lay down my life for my sheep and there will be one flock with one shepherd". The main people for us to judge are our own selves. The question awaiting us at death's door, isn't whether or not we've been official mass-going Catholics, but rather whether or not we've loved well - loved Christ in Heaven and in people. Some just want to be on the parish registry and wear a nice outfit for Sunday mass, but Christ is much more concerned about love. That's about overcoming selfishness, but also about overcoming divisions in this family of man. That's a 'casting out of demons' for which Jesus longs. One of those 'demons' is the way people pass judgement on each other, instead of leaving that for God. We're all in the boat together to help each other cross the lake of life, not to criticise in a way that complicates the journey for each other. The Gospel today talks of evil people going to hell (called 'Gehena'), but Jesus tells us that for loving reasons. A good doctor speaks clearly of the dangers of bad habits - like drug abuse! But Jesus asks all of us if he could use us to communicate. The second reading of James, certainly speaks - as he criticises the rich and powerful. The first reading has people complaining about some men prophesising, and Moses answers that he wished that all people were prophets (Num 11:29). It says that 'the spirit came upon them', and that's telling of how the role of preaching goes hand in hand with a life of prayer. In other words preaching shouldn’t be reserved to one’s own personal opinions. And we should live it in unity with other people, and not as hermits. Prayer and ministry of the word (preaching) happens to be the official 'Verbum Dei' charism. Surprise! Surprise! .......Dara. En ESPAÑOL: 26º Domingo: Num 11:25-28. Santiago 5:1-6. Mc 9:38-43, 45, 47-48. Las lecturas este domingo nos recuerdan que es Dios quien escoge a sus ayudantes, y no nos toca a nosotros escoger ni juzgar las elecciones de Dios. También nos está llamando a seguir a Cristo mismo más que a otras personas. Muchos eclesiásticos dan buen testimonio, y algunos no tanto, pero es a Cristo mismo que seguimos y Él da muy buen testimonio. Lo importante es ser fieles a lo que Dios nos pide a nosotros mismos. Cada uno tiene su conciencia. Me gusta ser católico Romano pero eso es porque me ayuda a ser Cristiano. Mi opción fundamental es por Cristo. El apóstol Juan se queja a Jesús de personas ‘echando demonios’ en su nombre, y Jesús le pide no quejarse. Echar demonios puede parecer cosa reservada a Jesús o cosa de película ficticia, pero creo que simboliza la tarea de la curación del egoísmo y del mal en el mundo, y aquello es una tarea que nos toca a todos. Se hace de muchas formas. Algo que pide es el ‘ecumenismo’ – el respetar que desde occidente al oriente, estamos todos aprendiendo. El Concilio Vaticano II era oficialmente ‘Ecumenico’. Es importante buscar la unidad. Recuerda el origen de nuestra Iglesia: ‘Cuando llegó el día de Pentecostés, estaban todos unidos en el mismo sitio... Y se llenaron todos del Espíritu Santo y empezaron a hablar en distintos idiomas...’ (Hch 2:1-5). Doy gracias por haber aprendido algunos idiomas. La Biblia habla algunas veces del plan de Dios para entendernos unos a los otros. Empieza con la historia triste de la Torre de Babel (Gen 11) donde la humanidad orgullosamente quería llegar ‘al Cielo’ por su cuenta. La torre cayó y empezaron a hablar en distintos idiomas. No es ‘historia’ – es un símbolo. ¡Dejemos de hablar como ‘ba-ba-ba-bel’! Al otro lado, después de la Resurrección de Cristo dice (en Hechos 2) que ¡los cristianos de lugares muy distintos se entendían unos a otros! El adjetivo ‘católico’ (como es nuestra Iglesia) significa ‘universal’. Es decir que no queremos que las distinciones de nacionalismos, ni de culturas, ni de tradiciones impidan la unidad de la Familia de Dios. La nación Irlandesa no sabía nada de la Buena Nueva Cristiana hasta que un esclavo del este llamado Patricio, escapó y después volvió para contar la noticia. ¡Su fiesta el día 17 de cada Marzo merece mucha más importancia que el canto y la cerveza! Qué bueno sería ver a muchos siguiendo su ejemplo. Mi nombre ‘Dara’ significa ‘roble’ en Irlandés pero ¡soy un trocito de una rama de una rama! – la rama de los misioneros de una comunidad de la Iglesia Católica. ‘Católica’ significa ‘universal’. Dice la Biblia que ‘Dios quiere salvar a todos y que todos conozcan la verdad’ (1°Tim 2:4)... y ¡todos signifíca todos! Dice Jesús (Jn 12:31) “Cuando yo sea levantado de la tierra, atraeré a todos hacia mi”... (Jn 10:11-16) “Daré la vida por mis ovejas y habrá un solo rebaño con un solo pastor”. Si vamos a juzgar, debería ser a nosotros mismos. La pregunta que nos espera a la puerta del Cielo, no es si hemos sido buenos Católicos de mucha misa, sino más bien si hemos amado bien – si hemos amado a Cristo en sí y en la gente. Algunos no quieren más que acudir a misa bien vestidos y estar en la lista del registro parroquial, pero lo que le preocupa a Cristo es que amemos bien. Se trata de la lucha contra el egoísmo, pero también contra las divisiones en nuestra familia humana. Aquello es un ‘echar demonios’ que le encanta a Jesús. Uno de aquellos ‘demonios’ es la forma en que la humanidad nos juzgamos unos a otros, en logár de dejar aquello a Dios. Estamos todos en la barca para ayudarnos unos a otros a cruzar el río de la vida, no para criticar y complicar el viaje. El Evangelio habla de los malvados yendo al infierno (llamado ‘Gehena’), pero Jesús nos dice aquello por amor. Un buen médico habla claramente de los peligros de los malos hábitos – ¡como el abuso de las drogas! Pero Jesús nos pide comunicar a través de nuesras vidas. La segunda lectura de Santiago comunica muy claramente – criticando a los ricos y poderosos. La primera lectura tiene personas criticando a otras por profetizar, y Moisés responde que le encantaría ver a todos como profetas (Num 11:29). Dice que ‘el espíritu les infundió’, y aquello habla de cómo la predicación va mano a mano con una vida de oración. Es decir la predicación no debería ser limitada a los opiniones personales de uno. Y deberíamos vivirlo en unidad, no como ermitaños. De hecho, la oración y el ministerio de la palabra (la predicación) es el papel (carisma) oficial de Verbum Dei. ¡Qué casualidad!
Comments are closed.
|
Reflections of faithRead and be inspired by the reflections and experiences of faith, based on the Word of God. Archives
August 2016
Categories
All
|