26th Sunday of Ordinary Time - Cycle B

Who speaks for the Lord?  Do you have to be a prophet?  A priest?  A bishop?  The Pope?  What about you?  The answer, according to our readings this week, is “whomever God calls,” and that could be you.

The Word for the 26tth Sunday of Ordinary Time
Numbers 11:25-29
Psalm 19:8, 10, 12-13, 14
James 5:1-6
Mark 9:38-43, 45, 47-48

Our first reading comes from the Book of Numbers.  This book is a continuation of the Exodus story, from the point where they leave the Sinai (after receiving the Law) to the point where they are ready to enter the Promised Land.  The book gives us some history of these years interspersed with sections of legal codes.  This Sunday’s passage deals with the commissioning the elders, those 70 individuals chosen by Moses to receive some of the Spirit so that they may prophesy (preach) among the people.  But during this time there were two men, Eldad and Medad, who were not with the group at the tent, but who also received the Spirit.  Joshua heard of this and out of concern told Moses, but Moses replies “Would that the Lord might bestow his spirit on them all.”  Moses was not concerned.  If they are called by God, then they cannot help but to speak the truth, and there is no harm in that.  And what is that truth?  Our Psalm tells us, “the precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart.”  In other words, if we follow God’s commandments, we will find joy.

Our Gospel from Mark reflects a similar story.  Picking up where we left off last week, John comes to Jesus concerned that there are others in the town driving out demons in his name, others who are not one of the disciples.  Like Moses, Jesus was not concerned, explaining to John and the others that if they can indeed do mighty deeds in his name, how could they speak ill of him.  Like Moses, Jesus sees the bestowing of the Spirit as a blessing, not a concern, because if what they do is true, then there is no harm in it.  But Jesus takes this idea one step further, giving a warning: that whoever causes someone to sin in his name will receive their just punishment.  To bring this point home he uses a series of extreme examples, examples that are not meant to be taken literally, but employed as a literary device to drive his message home – that we should beware of anything that might drive us to sin.

Our second reading continues our study of the Letter from James.  This week he is condemning the rich and those of means who have taken advantage of their position at the expense of others.  James makes a point that these are only material things that will eventually fade away.  What is more important is how the rich treat those who work for them.  The sin here is that the rich live in luxury and store up wealth while the workers cry out against the withholding of their wages.

Final Thoughts:
Both Moses and Jesus saw the benefit of having others working on their behalf, even though they were not “officially recognized” as being a member of the group.  Jesus even comments that “whoever is not against us is for us.”  More to the point, I believe Jesus and Moses not only recognized the universal nature of their mission, they recognized that the Spirit will choose whom it sees fit to carry out that mission.  More simply stated, in the words of Pope Francis, “who am I to judge?”  The true calling will reveal itself.