XXVI SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - CYCLE B – 2018

      In the Gospel of Mark Jesus continues to teach practical lessons about discipleship.   

      In this Sunday’s Gospel he teaches two lessons to his disciples:

o   Whoever does something good does it because he/she has allowed God to act through them

o   If our actions induce other to sin we have to change this radically.

FIRST READING: Numbers 11:25-29

THE BOOK OF NUMBERS

«  It is the fourth book of the Pentateuch, it comes after the book of Leviticus.  

«  In the books of Exodus and Leviticus we left the people in the Sinai desert where they have received the Law, Aaron has been consecrated priest, the sanctuary has been built and the worship has been  inaugurated. 

«  Now the people is ready to begin the journey toward the land promised to the fathers.  

«  This book is called in the Greek translation     Ἀριθμοί, Arithmoi and in the Hebrew במדבר‎, Bəmidbar which means “In the desert.”     

«  The text is complex, it indicates the intervention of diverse authors through different times, during many centuries of composition.  

«  The title numbers fits well to this book since it has a large number of censuses.   

«  This book so complex has also a message for us today. 

«  The leading thread is the land promised to the patriarchs, thus the people cannot remain at Sinai or in any other place of its journey, it has to reach the land. The people receive the guidelines to divide the land among the tribes, and the borders of the whole land. 

«  We cannot stop during the journey “the land” the Lord has shown to us with our call, we need to continue until we get to the goal he has set for us. 

THIS SUNDAY’S READING , let us listen to its message  

§  The text describes the gift of the spirit of God, which God has given to Moses and to the seventy elders.  

§  On receiving the spirit they prophesize. 

§  Two of them remained in the camp, but they also received the gift of the spirit and   prophesized.  

§  The young man, Joshua, goes to Moses and let him know with indignation about the two elders, because they were not with the rest.  

§  Moses wishes that all could prophesize, that is, that all may have the spirit of God on them.  

RESPONSORIAL PSALM – Ps 19: 8,10,12-13,14  

Ø  This is a psalm of praise to the law of God, which is the manifestation  of his will  

Ø  The precepts of the Lord are the joy of the heart of the just.

Ø  They give wisdom to the simple.

Ø  The psalmist asks God to be cleansed from sin

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.
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.
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!
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.
The precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart.

GOSPEL  Mk 9:38-43.45.47-48

In this passage of the Gospel of Mark, Jesus gives two new lessons to his disciples and to all of us, about discipleship.  

      John comes to Jesus with indignation because there is “one” who expels demons in the name of Jesus, but he does not belong to their group.     

      In the mind of John this should not be, they are the only ones who can expel demons because they are in the company of the Teacher.  

      Jesus takes advantage of this situation to teach them a lesson on discipleship  

§  He tells them that it is impossible that someone who performs miracles in his name be against him.  

§  Because who is not against us is with us.  

§  This reading invites us to reflect on our own attitudes; to see if they resemble those of the jealous John.     

§  What Jesus wants to tell us is that everyone who does good works, does them  because Jesus is with him or her, even if this person does not know or does not accept Jesus.     

§  No one can do good works without God.  God is always the author of good. The only thing we can do is open or close ourselves to his work in us. 

      Now he is going to teach a lesson on “causing others to sin” and thus hurt the people in their spirit.  

§  Jesus uses very harsh words, which shaken us. Jesus in the Gospel of Mark uses to do so frequently.  

§  All that is in you, which is occasion of sin for your brother or sister, eliminate or take it out of your life.    

SECOND READING  Jas 5:1-6

Ø  The strong words of James to his community help us to understand the magnitude of the social evil, which derives from our selfishness.  

Ø  On reading these words, we realize that the community of the beginnings of the church suffered from the same or similar injustices as our XXI century communities.  

Ø  Our social behavior has to be a consequence of the commandment to love our brothers and sisters, which Jesus left us.   

Ø  The riches are not evil in themselves, because they are a gift of creation, and creation comes from God. What is evil is the wrong way to use them, to use them to abuse our brothers and sisters who are poor.  

Ø  James reminds those who have employees and have become rich abusing them, that the salary they have not paid on time is a voice that cries out to God.   Let us remember that our God hears the cry of the poor, the suffering and the oppressed.   In the book of Exodus God says to Moses that he has heard the cry of his people and has come to deliver them.    

Ø  From the explanation of James it looks like the employers have kept the salary of his employees to keep the interest for themselves.  

Ø  James compares the luxury, the entertainments and the banquets of the rich taking advantage of the people in need, to the fattening of cows before taking them to the slaughter house.   

Ø  These are very harsh words, which makes us tremble perceiving the suffering of God on seeing the selfishness and evil we can do, because this behaviors can lead us to our destruction as human beings.

 CLARETIAN CORNER 

During the whole trip God let me know that it was his will that we disembark in this port and that we go to a Convent of sisters, where I will restore a little my worn out strength, but the good father who accompanied us, was opposed to do so, not because he did not want to give me all the possible relief, but he is so shy due to his humility that he does not want to disturb anyone, and God Our Lord allowed it because he did not want to relief my suffering with this hope but, he preferred the sacrifice of obedience, and thus no matter how much  I smooth out the difficulties, everything overwhelmed him, so much so that it seemed to me impossible such an inhibition in a man, and this was because by that time I did not know the ways of God in afflicting me. Venerable Maria Antonia París, Foundress of the Religious of Mary Immaculate Claretian Missionary Sisters. Diary 40.   

About the nuns you cannot imagine all that I had to do; please read the letter that I write to Mother Prioress. The Minister of Grace and Justice has given me some hope. Let us see. If they were sisters instead of nuns; some would have already come and we would have founded; but since they have to keep the cloister, they cannot leave from there without having a place where to go.

Alas! Currius how many sacrifices I have to do for this nuns! You know how much I repel to go among these materialities. I like to preach, to confess etc.  but to take care of the building of convents  that,  I do not like, I cannot. Nevertheless, I am doing it. Saint Anthony Mary Claret, Founder. Letter to Rev. Paladio Currius, September 8   1857 in the History of the Religious of Mary Immaculate Claretian Missionary Sisters, chapter 8, note 6bis. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

CLARET, Antonio María. Autobiografía.

PARIS, María Antonia. Dairy in Escritos.

PAGOLA, José A. Following in the Footsteps of Jesus – Meditations on the Gospel for Year B.

RAVASI, GIANFRANCO. Según las Escrituras (According to the Scriptures)  – Year B. Translated into Spanish by Justiniano Beltrán. Bogotá 2005.

SAGRADA BIBLIA. Versión oficial de la Conferencia Episcopal Española. (Official edition of the Spanish Conference of Bishops)

SCHÖKEL, Luis Alonso. LA BIBLIA DE NUESTRO PUEBLO (The Bible of our people) Misioneros Claretianos. China 2008.