Do not forbid him

Wednesday, February 23, 2011
St. Polycarp, Bishop, Martyr (Memorial)

First Reading: Psalm: Gospel:

Sirach 4:11-19 Psalm 119:165, 168, 171-172, 174-175 Mark 9:38-40

Mark 9:39 But Jesus said, "Do not forbid him; for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon after to speak evil of me.

Well, this is kind of a touchy subject. What do we do with people who claim to do something in Jesus' name, yet they do not "follow us"? Well, I guess the question is who do we think we are? John of course was an Apostle. And not just any Apostle, he was the beloved Apostle. John was a writer of a Gospel, three epistles, and he was chosen to receive the vision of Christ we refer to as the Revelation of Jesus Christ. Certainly he has authority to question who is preaching in the name of Jesus. Right?

Jesus said "Do not forbid him". If he is not against us he is for us? Really? Is that the way we understand things today? What about all this division in the church, all this denominationalism? We question whether others are really with us. Jesus does put a couple of conditions on the man though. First, "no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon after to speak evil of me" Jesus says. Then "he that is not against us is for us".

Notice that Jesus puts himself in the middle of this. The works are in His name, and he is not against "us". I think that we often tend to think that if someone does not follow "me" or does not see things as "I" do then he is not following Jesus. But do I always know the heart and mind of Jesus? Can I speak for Jesus without error?

Even John must have some humility here. Jesus tells John that He (Jesus) is the truth. If even John cannot exclude some one from casting our demons in Jesus' name then who are we to deny someone who does mighty works in the name of Jesus? We have to be careful that we don't put ourselves in front of Jesus and think that we are the truth.

Father, help by your Holy Spirit to remember that you are the truth and the way, not me. Help me to humbly seek your light and your will,

Amen

Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD

Friday, February 18, 2011
Weekday

First Reading: Psalm: Gospel:

Genesis 11:1-9 Psalm 33:10-15 Mark 8:34 -- 9:1

Psalms 33:12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage!

Today there is no shortage of anti-Christian opinions in our nation and in the world. In the USA it is harder and harder to see the presence of the Christian faith in the culture. It has been attacked on many fronts. We, as a nation, are in a dangerous position as we go forward without raising the name of Jesus Christ as our leader. Regardless of what political party we belong to, in the end, if we do not recognize Jesus Christ as our Lord we will parish. Both us and our nation. We tend to think that if we get enough people to agree with something then it is right, but God alone is right, because God alone can give life. Politics, economics, sports, entertainment, it all gives us empty promises. We think that we are powerful if we are in tune with these things, but God will not ask us what we knew about Hollywood, or what political party we are from when we face our judgement. The question is did we know Jesus as our Lord and savior.

That is it, there really is not much more to say about that.

Father, help me by your Holy Spirit to always put you first and to give you recognition and praise for the gifts that we have, especially the freedoms and prosperity that we have in this nation.

Amen

What right have you

Monday, February 14, 2011
Saints Cyril, Monk and Methodius, Bishop (Memorial)

First Reading: Psalm: Gospel:

Genesis 4:1-15, 25 Psalm 50:1, 8, 16-17, 20-21 Mark 8:11-13

Psalm 50:16 But to the wicked God says: "What right have you to recite my statutes, or take my covenant on your lips?

I can't be sure what exactly the psalmist is referring to when he says "take my covenant on your lips", but to me it can certainly be applied to the Eucharist. This is the new covenant according to Jesus, and we do take it in our mouth.

That being said, the question is how can we receive communion when if we are in sin? This is why it is so important to have some form of confession prior to the sacrament. Whether it is a personal confession to a priest, or a corporate confession as part of the liturgy, it must be done and we must have a heart of repentance, a willingness to make things right. Without that we make a mockery of our Lords death. When we take the sacrament lightly and without confession and repentance we are the ones that God is talking to in this passage.

Father, help me by your Holy Spirit to take seriously your Word and your Covenant, so that I am willing to confess my sin and do whatever you call me to do in repentance.

Amen

take nothing

Thursday, February 03, 2011
St. Blaise, Bishop and Martyr (Optional Memorial)

First Reading: Psalm: Gospel:

Hebrews 12:18-19, 21-24 Psalm 48:2-4, 9-11 Mark 6:7-13

Mark 6:8 He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts;

I do not see Jesus telling his apostles to start up some community or government program here. In fact I don't see him relying on earthly means at all. It seems that when Jesus did something, or when he had the Apostles do something, it was always a miracle. I don't see this band of men as being a charity that we write checks out to. Oh, sure they had money to live on, and I would assume that from time to time that money could be used for the poor, but the one reference we have to that is that of Judas, and he was a thief.

Maybe Jesus is trying to make a point here. Not hat we only rely on miracles, but when we do good it needs to come through us from God. We are not to demand or expect that others give to our cause. Unfortunately, at least on the surface , that looks like what we do a lot. We always want others to fund our mission, to support our cause. I think Jesus would say just do it, a miracle that is. Have faith.

Father, help me by your Holy Spirit to have faith and not to rely on others to fund me or help me, but that I may look to you for my help.

Amen

If I touch

Tuesday, February 01, 2011
Weekday

First Reading: Psalm: Gospel:

Hebrews 12:1-4 Psalm 22:26-28, 30-32 Mark 5:21-43

Mark 5: 28 For she said, "If I touch even his garments, I shall be made well."

This is one of the most intriguing stories for me. The reason is that she did not approach Jesus in the normal way. She did not pray to him or ask him personally. Now, I do not know if there was some custom regarding the touching of one's garment, but it is curious to me that she thought to herself all she had to do was to touch his garment and she would be healed. She seems to have thought of this for herself. This causes me to think about the Catholic idea of personal revelation. In other words, while we have a set of traditions and rules that are for us all, God can reserve the right to deal with us personally, either by revealing some thing specifically to us, or responding to our needs in a very unique and personal manner. There are those, that if this were to happen today, would say that it is of the devil. She did not follow the way that "we" think it should be.
It also causes me to think about the idea of sacramentals. That is that God can reveal himself through material objects. We know that the Apostles garments also were the medium for God's miracle power, and here of course we have the garment of Jesus. Jesus said it was her faith that healed her, and I suppose that we need to give this more attention. Maybe we need to think more about our faith. Maybe we have to ask ourselves if we really believe that God can deal with us on a personal level, or even if we believe that he can actually heal us at all. Can our faith make us well?

Father, help me by your Holy Spirit to truly believe that you love me and can deal with me on a personal level, and help me to believe that with you all things are possible.

Amen