Bishop Barron's Gospel Reflection May 23, 2018

Your daily Gospel reflection...

Wednesday, May 23, 2018

Seventh Week in Ordinary Time

Mark 9:38-40

Friends, today in the Gospel John complains to Jesus that some people not of their group were driving out demons in Jesus’ name. Jesus responds: “Don’t prevent them.…whoever is not against us is for us.” What a wonderful, generous attitude! John was undoubtedly angry that someone outside of their little circle was going to get credit. If you think that this sort of thing only happened in biblical times, you haven’t spent too much time around the Church! I’m a proud churchman, and I love and admire all of the great people who do so much for Christ’s kingdom, and for very little compensation. But I’ve also been around long enough to see this problem on parish staffs, in diocesan offices, within rectories, and among parish communities. We get so tied up in our little games and protecting our turf, and making sure things go according to the bureaucratic structures that we have established, that we forget what the mission is about. What Jesus saw was that the mission is what matters. Bringing God’s love to the world, being a conduit of grace: that’s what matters. All of our personal glory, position, privilege—all of that is finally a matter of indifference. Wednesday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 343 Reading 1 Jas 4:13-17 Beloved: Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we shall go into such and such a town, spend a year there doing business, and make a profit"– you have no idea what your life will be like tomorrow. You are a puff of smoke that appears briefly and then disappears. Instead you should say, "If the Lord wills it, we shall live to do this or that." But now you are boasting in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So for one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, it is a sin. Gospel Mk 9:38-40 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." Jesus replied, "Do not prevent him. There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name who can at the same time speak ill of me. For whoever is not against us is for us."