26 -SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - B – 2021 

      In the Gospel of Mark Jesus continues to teach practical lessons about discipleship.   

      In this Sunday’s Gospel he teaches two lessons to his disciples:

o   Whoever does something good does it because he/she has allowed God to act through them

o   If our actions induce other to sin, we have to change this radically. 

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 are 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 along different times, during many centuries of composition.  

«  The title numbers fits well to this book since it has a large number of censuses.   

«  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 its journey, it has to reach the land. The people receive the guidelines to divide the land among the tribes, and 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.  

FIRST READING: Numbers 11:25-29

, 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.  

§  What is the meaning of prophesize? It is not to say something about the future, although some of this is present also. It is to say something about the present time, an interpretation, under the light of faith, of a concrete historical situation (political, financial, moral, from everyday life…)

§  Two of them remained in the camp, but they also received the gift of the spirit and   prophesized.  

§  A young man, Joshua, goes to Moses and tells him, 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  

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

Ø  The precepts of the Lord are the joy of the heart of the just.

Ø  They give wisdom to the simple.

Ø  The psalmist asks God to be cleansed from sin 

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.
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.
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!
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.
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 about discipleship,  to his disciples and to all of us.  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, does them 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. 

      Now he is going to teach a lesson on “causing others to sin” and thus hurt people in their spirit.  

§  Jesus uses very harsh words, which shaken us. Jesus in the Gospel of Mark uses to do so frequently.  

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

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 must 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 keep 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 slaughterhouse.   

Ø  These are very harsh words, which makes us tremble perceiving the suffering of God on seeing the selfishness and evil we can do, because these behaviors can lead us to our destruction as human beings.

 CLARETIAN CORNER 

 J.M.J

To Mother Antonia París

 

París, February 28 1869

 

My very dear Mother in  J. C.: By means of Fr. Currius I have received  your letter  from the 15th of the present month. After reading it I say that we are in times when we gave to practice the virtue of patience. Doing and suffering is how we walk to the happy eternity.    Jesus, Mary Most Holy and all the Saints have followed this path.   Alas! If we did not have to suffer!   This is the work of our profession, what would be the use of having many skills without anything to do?    What would we do if we did not have to suffer calumnies, persecutions? …  When good people praise us, there is always the danger of self-complacency and vanity; but when bad people praise us, there isn’t.  Maybe you will ask, when do bad people praise us?... They praise us when they persecute and calumny us; in order that you understand this truth I will use a comparison. Have you seen in a vegetable garden a fig tree with lots of figs, and many birds go to eat them? do you want to know which are the best figs? The birds will tell you, those they seek and eat most.

 

This is just like the Gospel. Jesus our Divine Master has said “if you were from the world, the world would love you, but since you are not from the world, but mine, this is why the world hates you…  When they will say all sorts of lies against you … rejoice.” Let us rejoice and say: Long live Jesus, long live Jesus!!!...  

 

When you have the opportunity greet the Penitentiary, the Prior from Reus, the Nuns. My greetings to you.   Your Chaplain.  

Antonio María  (Letter 281)

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY .

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

RAVASI, GIANFRANCO. Según las Escrituras (According to the Scriptures)  – Year B. Translated into Spanish by Justiniano Beltrán. Bogotá 2005.

RR. of MARY IMMACULATE CLARETIAN MISSIONARY SISTERS. Cartas de los Inicios (Letters from the Origins) Madrid 2009.

SAGRADA BIBLIA. Versión oficial de la Conferencia Episcopal Española. (Official edition of the Spanish Conference of Bishops)

SCHÖKEL, Luis Alonso. LA BIBLIA DE NUESTRO PUEBLO (The Bible of our people) Misioneros Claretianos. China 2008.