Homily for the Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B Numbers 11:25-29/Psalm 19/James 5:1-6/ Mark 9:38-43, 47-48 Theme: A Tolerant community we must be

Today’s texts all make reference to community life, both in the people on the journey to the Promised Land, and in the Church community. The first reading talks about the gift of the Spirit of God to the seventy elders of the people on their journey across the desert. The Gospel reflects on certain aspects of the life of the disciples and of the early Christians in their relations among themselves and with those not belonging to the Christian community. At the end of his letter, James addresses the rich members of the community to reproach them for their conduct and make them reflect in the light of the final judgment. An imperfect community is usually intolerant. The first thing that catches one’s attention in today’s texts is that the early Christian community and, before them, the Jewish community in the desert, are characterized by limitations and imperfection. Their exclusionist intolerance of those who do not belong to their group is evident both in Joshua, “My Lord Moses, stop them!”(First Reading) and John, “Master, we saw someone who is not one of us driving out devils in your name, and because he was not one of us we tried to stop him” (Gospel). Another point is the injustice committed by some of the “strong” and “great” members of the community, who put the simple faith of the more “insignificant” members at risk (Gospel). Among those who cause scandal are the rich, who place their sense of security in their riches. On top of this, they exploit the poor by not paying daily wages to laborers. They abandon themselves to luxury and pleasures, and tread upon the law and justice to the detriment of the poor (Second Reading). Here is an important lesson: no Christian community is exempt from imperfections, weaknesses and wretchedness. Before such a reality, the Pope invites us to purify our memory in the face of the past, and to repent and renew ourselves in the face of the present. An imperfect community makes us live with a greater consciousness that the Spirit of God, not man, is the soul which gives us life and sanctifies us with his presence and gifts. Our Parish communities and indeed our society must be a true reflection of Christ. Before all else, emphasis must be placed on Jesus Christ’s great tolerance, or rather, on his enormous openness of spirit towards those who do not belong to the group, to the community of believers. “You must not stop him,” Jesus says to John and to the disciples. Jesus’ behavior is preceded by that of Moses, who learns that his spirit has been communicated to Eldad and Medad, neither of whom belonged to the group of seventy. “Are you jealous on my account? If only all Yahweh’s people were prophets, and Yahweh had given them his spirit!” Jesus explains his position with two reflections: 1) Those who invoke my name to work a miracle cannot then immediately turn round and speak ill of me. Jesus exerts a comprehensive influence, which cannot be confined within institutional limits. 2) Those who are not against us are for us. And this is true even when one does not belong to the same community of faith. On the other hand, within the community relations between the different members must be based on the commandment of charity. The charity we are talking about is the “little charity” of the Gospel, a necessary ingredient for living together on a daily basis. The simple gesture of giving someone a glass of water with the sole intention of living out Christian charity is an example of this “little charity” in practice. Another way of living according to the commandment of charity is to avoid scandal. For the love of one’s brother, one must be ready to put an end to anything that may hurt him. Relations within the Church must also be characterized by justice between the owners of the lands and the laborers. The rich must be clearly conscious of the fact that their wealth is not there simply to be enjoyed and squandered, but to be placed at the service of the needy. In the light of the freedom of the Spirit, the Church must recognize her Catholicity. The word Catholic means universal. This presupposes that our Church excludes no one; indeed, everybody must feel welcome. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches us to see “all goodness and truth found in these [non-Christian] religions as ‘a preparation for the Gospel and given by him who enlightens all men that they may at length have life’” (CCC 843). The Holy Spirit is the soul of the Church, but the Church does not have an exclusive or an excluding nature in relation to him. The Spirit enjoys the right to act beyond the visible body of the Church. As children of the Church, we must try to know and feel full of joy vis-à-vis the manifestations of the Spirit in other religions. Anything that stems from the action of the Spirit, wherever it may be, will be good, holy and true. It is true that together with the action of the Spirit there are also human actions, with all of their imperfections and even sin. This is why discernment is necessary, i.e., the capacity to distinguish and separate the work of the Spirit from the action of men. To distinguish and separate is necessary, but not to eliminate. “Do not put out the Spirit,” says St Paul. In the current situation of society and the Church, a situation bound to become more marked in the future, it is important for us Christians to be able to accept the freedom of the Spirit. It is also important for us to be educated, from a young age, to tolerate and accept the Spirit’s freedom. But we must especially be educated in Christian prudence and discernment. Have you had any opportunity - at school, at work, in your friendships - to practice tolerance, respect, prudence and discernment? Authority and richness in the Church must tolerate all and sundry. In the Church, only some have been called by God to exercise institutional authority and this authority must be at the service of the Church. Indeed, we all have the right and duty to exercise the authority of holiness for this is common to all whether Priests or Laity. Since the Christian conceives authority as a service, the Church hierarchy practices its service making sure that the Church community is on the right track when it comes to doctrine, moral life, and liturgical actions. In turn, holy souls exercise their authority over the ecclesial community by generously giving their lives to God and men, attracting many people to God and to the Spirit with their behavior and witness of life. These are two different ways of exercising authority, both of which are at the service of the Church as a whole. It goes without saying that many members of the hierarchy, in addition to the juridical authority which they enjoy, also stand out by virtue of their moral authority and their holiness. In conclusion, in the Church, there are many who are rich in goods, and many of them are also rich in true love. In the Church there are also those who are poor in goods, but who possess extraordinary wealth in terms of faith, love and hope. Unfortunately, there are also the others, the rich in goods and poor in love, the poor in goods and rich in their eagerness to make money and gain wealth. Let us not deceive ourselves. The real rich in the Church are the saints. If, in addition to being rich in holiness, they are rich in dollars, so much the better - provided that they place them at the service of all.