Cycle B - Year I:  

26 September 2021: Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time 

(Liturgical Color: Green)

Readings:

First Reading:        Numbers 11:25-29

Second Reading:   James 5:1-6

Gospel:  Please Read  Mark 9:38-43, 45, 47-48 

God's mercy and love is for everyone!

As Catholics we profess one, holy, and apostolic Church founded by our Lord Jesus Christ Himself. But the Church does not close itself to those of other faith.  We persistently work to reach out to other brothers and sisters through ecumenism. 

Now, ecumenism takes its starting  point that Christ founded just one Church and not many churches. So the Catholic Church has as its ultimate hope and objective that through prayer, study and dialogue, the historically separated bodies may come again and be reunited with the Catholic Church.

The Gospel proclamation this Sunday reinforces the foundation for the Church's efforts on ecumenism.  

"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.' "  (Mk 9:40) But Jesus tells John and the other disciples not to prevent people from doing good works in His name.  For Jesus said that "whoever is not against us is for us." (Mk 9:40)  As people were learning about Jesus they wanted to follow our Lord Jesus and to share His message and to help others.  And Jesus wants everyone to experience the love and mercy of His Father.     

So Jesus is teaching us that discipleship is not some personal privilege. We have no monopoly of Jesus. For in His kingdom, power-seekers and rivalry have no place.  

Thus, the followers of Jesus are not meant to be an exclusive group which despises the good works that others do. Instead, we are encouraged to work with other Christians, and everyone of good will.  For the Holy Spirit blows like the wind wherever it pleases, and is at work incognito in every human heart.

In our own generation, we are all called to follow our Lord Jesus and to do "mighty deeds" in Jesus' name. We must keep in mind that even a small act of love, sacrifice, or giving, when we do it in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, they can be "mighty" as well.  

The second point in our reflection is a warning from Jesus to His followers to avoid things that may lead us to sin.  Sometimes, it is so tempting to do things even when we know they are wrong and sinful. And we fall into sin when we give way to temptations.  That is why Jesus warns us to be always on guard against things that lead us to make these bad choices and to eliminate them from our lives.

My late professor in Moral Theology gave us a helpful tip to avoid falling into sin. He said that at the very first sign of temptation it is prudent to just run away than allow our moral strength to be tested. For no one can really claim to be strong enough against the cunning of the evil one.  Remember that the evil one is much stronger than us humans.

So Jesus warns us about the reality of hell for those who do not want to heed His teaching.  Jesus said to His disciples, "It is better for you to enter into life crippled than with two feet to be thrown into Gehenna (meaning hell in the New Testament)." (Mk 9:45)  The fear of hell should urge us to lead a good life because absolutely nothing here on earth is worth even a moment in hell.

This Sunday we also celebrate National Seafarers' Sunday organized by the Apostleship of the Sea.  Let us pray that our Lord Jesus bless and protect our Filipino seafarers and their families, and that they also become effective ambassadors for our country and faithful messengers of Christ through their Christian living.

A blessed Sunday to us all.  And thank you for a moment with God.

Ad Jesum per Mariam!