September 27, 2009 26th Ordinary Sunday of the Year Num 11:25-29: James 5:1-6; Mk. 9:38-43 45, 47-48 _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________   Readings:http://www.usccb.org/nab/092709.shtml   ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________   The Gospel begins with a question from John about how to silence someone who was casting out demons in the name of Jesus though he was not “one of us.” Jesus counters John’s view with the saying, “Do not prevent him”; anyone who gives even a cup of water because you belong to Christ, will not lose a reward, since “whoever is not against us is for us.”   In the first reading, Moses has descended from Sinai, and God’s spirit descends on the 70 elders and they begin to prophesy. Two are absent, Eldad and Medad, and yet the spirit rests on them and they prophesy. Like John, Joshua asks Moses to stop them, and Moses answers with the hope that God’s spirit of prophecy be given to all the people. One motif, then, that characterizes these two readings is that the power and spirit of God cannot be appropriated by any group, even a group of chosen leaders, and that the work of God can be done by someone “who was not one of us.”   The mood of Jesus’ teaching now changes. The setting returns to that of Mk. 9:36, where Jesus is holding a child, and now he warns dramatically against causing a little one to sin. “Cause to sin,” which puts the onus of sinning on “the little one,” is to cause one to “fall” or “put an obstacle in a person’s way.”   The readings today, like so much of Mark, present the good news and the sober news. The good news is that those who do the work of Jesus, even without being his followers, are “for him,” and that whoever gives even a cup of water in Jesus’ name will not lose his or her reward. Today in our parishes people are not simply giving a cup of water, but feeding the hungry and welcoming the stranger, because they too “belong to Christ.” Jesus’ words here are also a reminder that we must read the signs of the times and discern those outside our communities of disciples who are still confronting the power of evil and are “for us.” Moses’ action is a warning against domesticating or institutionalizing the voice of prophecy.   The “sober” but paradoxically good news is the sad consequences of causing the little ones to fall, whether they be actual children or vulnerable members of the community. The picture of Jesus holding a child and defending the little ones is especially pertinent in our times.     <<   Previous: 25th Sunday of the Year  |   Next: 27th Sunday of the Year >>     Go Back to SERMONS (Year B)