Honoring the Good Work of Others The Twenty-Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time 2021

Honoring the Good Work of Others

The Twenty-Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time 2021

September 26, 2021

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Numbers 11:25-29; Psalm 19; James 5:1-6; Mark 9:38-48

 

These readings point out a curiosity in our human nature – that we enjoy our privileges and we don’t like to share them. This point is depicted in the first reading when Eldad and Medad were given gifts by God, but it was not in the way the people intended. These two men were speaking truths about God, but they did not go into the tent to be commissioned by the Spirit with the seventy others. Instead they remained in the camp, and the Lord sought them out for ministry. Joshua protested because he did not understand what was going on, but Moses reassured him that they were indeed commissioned as prophets and that God calls people through supernatural means.

 

Almost the same type of event happens in the Gospel with the person who drove out demons in the name of Jesus, but he was not in the elite camp to which they belonged. Objectively, the man was a believer, was doing good works, spoke with right teaching, but was not of the same tribe. He was doing all the right things, but instead of celebrating his good works, John was jealous because he was not called along the same lines. Jesus reorients him to the unity that exists between people of goodwill. If someone is not working against us, perhaps it is better to be grateful and to encourage the person to continue as a friend and colleague. We find ourselves as tribal people and we forget about our allegiance to the good news of the Gospel.

 

If we choose, we can find so many things to divide us; If we choose, we can find so many things to unite us. The power is in where we want to direct our mind and our attitudes. In today’s world, we can separate ourselves along political lines, church beliefs, teaching philosophies, word choices, and so forth. We can do that and we do it regularly. The Gospel instructs us not to cause anyone who believes in Jesus to sin, and then Mark gives many ways that our actions can send us off to Gehenna. Our duty as Christians is to bring people together into communion and to celebrate that we are all about the same work ultimately. If we are not working together, we are hurting the church and God’s kingdom. 

 

We can choose to get along better, to practice kindness, to refrain from speaking what is on our minds, to choose the words that heal and bind. We can notice our places of privilege and recognize it is a gift that we have to use well and help others along the path of justice who do not have the same benefits. We can notice that we can expand our understanding and acceptance by testing our worldviews and assumptions, which allows us to settle our fears, jealousies, and worst imaginings. Mostly, we have to see the goodwill in other people, especially those who have different stories and perspectives, in order to see their inherent worth and dignity. We see a person made in the image of God who struggles as we do, who has a unique story, and is doing one’s best to get along in life. When we behold the person’s goodness, we desire the unity that Christ seeks for his church. 

 

Scripture for Daily Mass

 

Monday: (Zechariah 8) I am intensely jealous for Zion, stirred to jealous wrath for her. Thus says the LORD: I will return to Zion, and I will dwell within Jerusalem; Jerusalem shall be called the faithful city, and the mountain of the LORD of hosts, the holy mountain.

Tuesday: (Zechariah 8) “Come! let us go to implore the favor of the LORD”; and, “I too will go to seek the LORD.” Many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem and to implore the favor of the LORD.

 

Wednesday: (Revelation 12) War broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels battled against the dragon. The dragon and its angels fought back, but they did not prevail and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. 

 

Thursday: (Nehemiah 8) The whole people gathered as one in the open space before the Water Gate, and they called upon Ezra the scribe to bring forth the book of the law of Moses which the LORD prescribed for Israel.

 

Friday (Baruch 1) During the Babylonian captivity, the exiles prayed: “Justice is with the Lord, our God; and we today are flushed with shame.

 

Saturday (Baruch 4) Fear not, my people! Remember, Israel, You were sold to the nations not for your destruction; It was because you angered God that you were handed over to your foes.

 

Gospel: 

Monday: (Luke 9) An argument arose among the disciples about which of them was the greatest. Jesus realized the intention of their hearts and took a child and placed it by his side and said to them, “Whoever receives this child in my name receives me,
and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.

 

Tuesday: (Luke 9) When the days for Jesus to be taken up were fulfilled, he resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem, and he sent messengers ahead of him.
On the way they entered a Samaritan village to prepare for his reception there, but they would not welcome him because the destination of his journey was Jerusalem. 

 

Wednesday (John 1) Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him,
“Here is a true child of Israel. There is no duplicity in him.” Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.”

 

Thursday (Luke 10) “The harvest is abundant, but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest. Go on your way; behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves.

 

Friday (Luke 10) “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would long ago have repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.

 

Saturday (Matthew 18) “Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?” He called a child over, placed it in their midst, and said, “Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven.

 

Saints of the Week

 

September 26: Cosmas and Damian, martyrs (d. 287), were twins who became doctors. They were noted because they never charged anyone a medical fee. They died in the Diocletian persecution. Great miracles have been attributed to them and the Emperor Justinian is claimed to be healed through their intercession.

 

September 27: Vincent de Paul, priest (1581-1660), was a French peasant who selected to be chaplain at the Queen's household after his ordination. He provided food and clothing to the poor, including prostitutes, the sick, disabled, and homeless. He founded the Congregation of Missions (Vincentians) to preach and train clergy and he co-founded the Daughters of Charity with Louise de Marillac.

 

September 28: Wenceslaus, martyr (907-929), was raised a Christian by his grandmother while his mother and brother were opposed to Christianity. His brother opposed him when he became ruler of Bohemia in 922. He introduced strict reforms that caused great dissatisfaction among nobles and political adversaries. His brother invited him to a religious ceremony where he was killed in a surprise attack.

 

September 28: Lawrence Ruiz and 15 companion martyrs (seventeenth century), were killed in Nagasaki, Japan during 1633 and 1637. Most of these Christians were friends of the Dominicans. Lawrence, a Filipino, was a husband and father. He and these other missionaries served the Philippines, Formosa, and Japan.

 

September 29: Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, archangels are long a part of Christian and Jewish scripture. Michael is the angel who fights against evil as the head of all the angels; Gabriel announces the messiah's arrival and the births of Jesus and John the Baptist; and Raphael is a guardian angel who protects Tobias on his journey. Together, they are venerated to represent all the angels during a three-day period.

 

September 30: Jerome, priest and doctor (342-420), studied Greek and Latin as a young man after his baptism by Pope Liberius. He learned Hebrew when he became a monk and after ordination he studied scripture with Gregory Nazianzen in Constantinople. He became secretary to the Pope when he was asked to translate the Bible into Latin.

 

October 1: These of Lisieux, doctor (1873-1897), entered the Carmelites at age 15 and died at age 24 from tuberculosis. During her illness, Pauline, her prioress, asked her to write about her life in the convent. These stories are captured in "The Story of a Soul." He focused on her "little way" of pursuing holiness in everyday life.

 

October 2: The Guardian Angels are messengers and intermediaries between God and humans. They help us in our struggle against evil and they serve as guardians, the feast we celebrate today. Raphael is one of the guardians written about in the Book of Tobit. A memorial was added to the Roman calendar In 1670 in thanksgiving for their assistance.

 

This Week in Jesuit History

 

• September 26, 1605. At Rome, Pope Paul V orally declared St Aloysius to be one of the "Blessed." The official brief appeared on October 19. 
• September 27, 1540. Pope Paul III signed the Bull, Regimini Militantis Ecclesiae, which established the Society of Jesus. 
• September 28, 1572. Fifteen Jesuits arrived in Mexico to establish the Mexican Province. They soon opened a college. 
• September 29, 1558. In the Gesu, Rome, and elsewhere, the Jesuits began to keep Choir, in obedience to an order from Paul IV. This practice lasted less than a year, until the pope's death in August, 1559. 
• September 30, 1911. President William Howard Taft visited Saint Louis University and declared the football season open. 
• October 1, 1546. Isabel Roser was released from her Jesuit vows by St Ignatius after eight months. 
• October 2, 1964. Fr. General Janssens suffered a stroke and died three days later. During his generalate, the Society grew from 53 to 85 provinces, and from 28,839 to 35,968 members.