XXVI SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - CYCLE B – 2015

In the Gospel of Mark Jesus continues to teach practical lessons about discipleship.   
In this Sunday’s Gospel he teaches two lessons to his own.  

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 census.   

«  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 his journey, it has to reach the land. The people receives the guidelines to divide the land among the tribes, and also 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

THE PRECEPTS OF THE LORD GIVE JOY TO THE HEART

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

Ø  It is a long psalm. 

R. 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.
R. 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.
R. 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!
R. 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.
R. 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 is 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. 

      And 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 this frequently.  

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

§  To cause our brothers or sisters to sin may be a cause for us to stray from the way to the Lord.    

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 obtain 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.   

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

In this situation, being – as I said- anxious and full of fears for the excessive care of my body, His majesty was pleased to console me making me understand that it was his will for my life to be of some utility in these times for the glory of His Divine Majesty. This advice of the Lord that gave me some consolation, made me very confused because I was so far from thinking that my life could be useful that I was even considering myself unworthy of life itself. And this was not because of humility, like St. Catherine of Siena and others, but because of the multitude of my sins. And on the other hand, since what the Lord was telling me was a thing of less mortification, it made me suspect that it comes from the bad spirit. Thus, I immediately consulted my confessor, and he told me that his opinion was the same, and not to doubt that it was what our Lord had told me. Let the reader not believe that that I have abhorred very much my body! I have taken too much care of it. Venerable Maria Antoni París, Foundress of the Claretian Missionary Sisters. Autobiography 87  

 Meekness is one sign of a vocation to be an apostolic missionary. When God sent Moses, he gave him the grace and virtue of meekness. Jesus Christ was meekness itself, and because of this virtue He is called the Lamb. The prophets foretold that He would be so mild that He would neither break the bruised reed nor quench the smoking flax  that he would be persecuted, calumniated, and covered with reproaches and yet remain as one without a tongue and say nothing. What patience and meekness! Yes, by his labors, his suffering, his silence and death on the Cross, He redeemed us and taught us how we must act to save the souls He has entrusted to us. Saint Anthony Mary Claret Founder of the Claretian Missionary Sisters. Autobiography 374.  

 BIBLIOGRAPHY

CLARET, Antonio María. Autobiografía.

PARIS, María Antonia. Autobiografía  en Escritos.

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

RAVASI, GIANFRANCO. Según las Escrituras – Año B. Traducido por Justiniano Beltrán. Bogotá 2005.

SAGRADA BIBLIA. Versión oficial de la Conferencia Episcopal Española.

SCHÖKEL, Luis Alonso. LA BIBLIA DE NUESTRO PUEBLO. Misioneros Claretianos. China 2008.