Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 137
Reading I
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!"
Responsorial Psalm
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.
Reading II
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.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Your word, O Lord, is truth;
consecrate us in the truth.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
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 with one eye
than with two eyes to be thrown into Gehenna,
where 'their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.'"
MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,
The Spirit of the Lord is upon us. This happens when we are open to receive what He is offering to us. This offering is never rescinded but is constantly in place, waiting for a response from us. It is impossible to separate God from any part of His creation. This includes us who are at the pinnacle of His creation. What special gifts and revelations await us when we allow God to do the work He so desperately wants to do. Why this desperation from an all-powerful and everlasting God? This comes from the fact that He knows better and wants to share with us what He knows to bring us back to Him. The beautiful words from The Prophet Hosea ring true: “Come back to me with your whole heart. Don’t let fear keep us apart.” Free will is an important part of the interactions we have with God, so nothing can be forced or done against our will. How we welcome the Spirit and how we participate with God in His creation is entirely up to us and our willingness. The Spirit waits to move us and bring us to God.
The world and what it offers is truly an amazing place. There are bountiful experiences and enjoyment waiting for us. There are also challenges, pain, and pitfalls. All of these are a part of what life is all about. All person’s individual experiences are unique and special. What we go through and how we react to it define and shape us. Through it all we can experience it with God or without Him. It is obvious that being with God is a far more rewarding choice than being separate from Him. As soon as we get out of our own way and stop convincing ourselves that we can do everything on our own without the help of our creator is when we can truly start living.
In the Scripture Reading today God gave the gift of His Spirit to seventy elders so they could assist Moses in teaching and administering to the people. They were ready to enter a relationship with God. Even the ones not present became receptors of God’s gift because they were ready to be receive Him. God has already prepared us for we were created in His image. The final act is to say to God, “Give it to me!” Mere words are not required but a state of preparedness that enables our hearts to cry out to Him, “Here I am Lord!” We are then freed from the bondage of self and are joined with God.
I was spending time with a friend of mine and he was sharing his struggles with alcoholism. His job required him to spend a lot time driving and a lot of time away from his home. When he drank, he would do so while driving throughout the day into the night. This went on for years until he finally surrendered and became sober. It was then that he was open to what God was offering him. He was amazed at the breathtaking scenery that he drove through on a daily basis. The rivers, lakes, mountains, and wildlife shouted out to him, “GOD IS HERE!” A God who was a stranger to him before and one that he found himself way too distant from was now close. He found himself stopping at the side of the road just to experience the beauty of God in the moment and to breath it all in. The Spirit settled upon Him. Same scenery but a different reaction. He exclaimed, “For all these years I passed through certain places not noticing what was there. I was more concerned about where I was going to stop and get my booze. Now I am stopping to witness what God put here. I still cannot believe that it was here the whole time!” What a difference life can be when we embrace the perspective of God!
When we are drawn into the currents of the flesh, we will eventually rot like a carcass laying out in the noon-time sun. The Apostle Paul said, “The world as we know it is currently passing away.” This is the cycle of being in the physical world when the Spirit of God is not let in. Whatever is focused on has an expiration date. Nothing is infinite. What is obtained one day withers and dies the next. Destruction is the only constant. God is above this and when we live in the Spirit, we become above it also. The Letter of James emphasizes this with a dire warning: Earthly things and early desires will exact their toll upon us and eventually devour our flesh. These things lead to death while everything from God leads to life. The Spirit of God equals eternity. There is relief in knowing that we don’t have to act like time is running out if the spiritual is put in the position of the most important thing in our lives. There is no downside when our thoughts and actions are grounded in The Spirit and not in corporal things.
There is proper conduct that comes as a result of being open to The Spirit. Earthy desires and earthly emotions will fade away exchanged for an intimate knowledge of the pleasures that God offers. What we once accepted as normal will then appear to be abnormal; at times even making us feel dirty when these thoughts and action encroach on us. Things that we once thought were important are then treated with indifference, for they have their roots in the physical world and not in God. At the same time, these negative things can often creep back in if we once again close the door to the influences of God.
We have control of our openness and close-mindedness. This can happen consciously and even subconsciously. If we don’t maintain our openness, we can think we are doing the right thing, but we have become backsliders, taking on old habits and ways of doing things. This may come in the form of negative emotions which are created through a negative thought process. This is our own doing and can easily lead to our undoing. We must remind ourselves that only good things come from God. Anything negative is the opposite of God and has its roots in evil. Constant vigilance is the key to build up our defenses against these things. Jesus reminds us in The Gospel of Matthew: “ If you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come back and offer your gift.” In other words, we must constantly work at removing all things negative from our lives so as to continue to receive what God is offering.
John, one of the Sons of Thunder, was bothered by the fact that someone the disciples did not know was casting out demons in Jesus’ name. Someone so close to Jesus and open to The Spirit such as John was still having negative thoughts and emotions. His humanness overcame his spirituality in the form of anger and jealousy. No one is more or less special in the eyes of God. Yes, the disciples were set aside for special service but that didn’t mean that everyone else was excluded and that no one else had received The Gift of the Spirit. It is laughable that someone can believe that they are walking with God while criticizing others who are doing the same. We are all in this together. These venial thoughts have the capability of growing into a much larger problem, thus we have to be continuously on our guard against them. There are more important things to worry about than providing a litmus test as to who is sincere in their beliefs and who is not. God will reveal these things as God will also reveal the weaknesses in us to strengthen us. Other people are going through the same process. It is a good process and one that makes those going through it better men and women.
Being open to The Spirit and reacting to its presence brings us closer to God and to a spiritual perfection that we all are seeking. Some know they are seeking it while others may feel a loss of something that they cannot readily define. Regardless of anyone’s present situation the answer to both conditions is the same: Being open to The Spirit. Preparation and understanding key. We control the on and off switch. We control how much openness we have. Our hand is the hand that is on the lever which can open the dam and let the water flow down upon us. We can either wait or pull it now. A question: What are you waiting for?
Deacon Tom
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