September 30 // 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Reading I: Numbers 11:25-29
Responsorial Psalm 19:8, 10, 12-13, 14
Reading II: James 5:1-6
Gospel: Mark 9:38-43, 45, 47-48

“For whoever is not against us is for us.” (Mark 9:40). Jesus was saying that his Body, the Church, was not to be an exclusive club, but an inclusive and caring community.
This teaching was part of a conversation with the young disciple, John. It was followed by some very tough love.

Anyone, Jesus said to John—and says to us—anyone who causes members of the Church to sin, would be better off dead. Any part of Christ’s Body which leads the Body to sin, needs to be cut off.

Jesus knew that his followers would not be perfect, and he was warning against sins that would make the Church look like anything but a community of his disciples.

How seriously have Christians taken these warnings? It may be easy for us to look back into history and say, for instance, that the Crusades were certainly not what Jesus would have wanted.

But what about today? What parts of the Body are causing the “little ones who believe in me to sin”? (Mark 9:42). It’s not only the sinfulness present in the institution, but also sinful behavior of Christians in all aspects of our lives.

In her reflection last week, Deni Mack wrote about children being separated from their parents at the U.S. Mexico border. How many of the people responsible for this, consider themselves to be followers of Christ? What message are they sending to the world?

Yet we must not lose hope. We do have Jesus, present with us now, who can show us the way to being a united community of love, spreading his love throughout the world.

This week some of us heard a talk on the Prison Ministry of Upstate New York. The presenters spoke of real Christian communities being created inside of prisons, communities that extend beyond the prison walls. May all of the good being done in our world, grow and grow with each passing day.