Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year B

Have you ever suffered from professional jealousy? Or a moment when you’ve picked something up to read at work and thought, ‘Well that’s not good enough!’ mostly because it wasn’t done the way you would do it?

I have to confess that I have, and more times than I would like to count.

In this Sunday’s Gospel, and the first reading from the Book of Numbers, that’s exactly what’s happening.

In the midst of the exodus, and the long, trying journey through the wilderness, God gives a sign to the people that they have not been abandoned - that God has a plan for them. Yet when one of those who did not answer God’s call is gifted with the same Spirit as those who did, Joshua calls on Moses to put a stop to it.

Then, in the midst of Jesus public ministry, John and the other disciples try to stop the man who is not one of the chosen from doing what they see as their calling. Both Jesus and Moses respond in the same way. Why should they stop someone who is doing good in God’s name.

It was St Augustine that put forward the idea that evil is not a thing in and of itself, but a distortion of good. That when we misuse our strength, our gifts, our intellect, that is when evil happens.

When we look at the good that others do, and are jealous, or judgmental that we could have done it better, we are distorting the heart and mind that God has given us. And whether we give voice to our jealousy, or tear others down in our own mind, we are allowing ourselves to become less than God has created us to be.

In the Psalms we pray, when I am brought low, may I be restored O God by your saving grace. As we reflect on this Sunday’s readings, may we recognise those moments we have let ourselves down by putting down others and ask God's forgiveness.

Comments

Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year B

Early in the final year of my teacher training at Mount Saint Mary's I fell in love. Within months I had decided that this girl was the one. By the end of that year I was off to the country as a beginning teacher, leaving her behind in Sydney to complete her own studies. For the next three years I lived alone in small flat next to the local footy oval. I involved myself in sport, community service and work, and kept myself very busy. I enjoyed it all, but without her, it was never home. In the latter part of my third year, I was applying for four or five jobs a week, longing to get back to her. After what must have been twenty-five or thirty applications a principal asked me straight out in an interview why I was so determined to come back to the city. I told him the truth, and within fifteen minutes of the interview, he offered me the job. I called my mum, and then I called Shayne. My experience of long-distance love (and telephone bills) is why the opening line of th...

Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year C

In this Sunday's Gospel we hear the story of Mary and Martha. It is Martha, we are told, that welcomes Jesus into her house, and immediately she sets about doing exactly what is culturally expected of her. She begins to serve the Lord. We aren't given the details but we can imagine that she is preparing food, drink and welcome for Jesus. And that she would have come to wash his feet. Yet when she does, she finds that her sister Mary is there 'sat at the Lord's feet and listening to Him.' The Gospel tells us that Martha is frustrated - upset that she is doing all the work while her sister assumes the posture of a disciple. And it tells us that she directs her frustration at Jesus, not Mary. "Don't you care..." As we have come to expect, Jesus' answer challenges Martha's righteousness. Mary, she is told, has chosen the better part, and it is not to be taken from her. The story ends abruptly, and we don't get to hear what Martha'...

Pentecost - Year C

This Sunday we celebrate the Feast of Pentecost. The entrance antiphon proclaims that 'The love of God has been poured into our hearts through the Spirit of God dwelling within us.' The immediate and vivid memory this prompts in me is primary school, felt banners, guitars and children's voices belting out... ♫ God is dwelling in my Heart. He and I are one. All His joy He gives to me, through Christ His son. And with Jesus in my heart, what have I to fear. For He is the Son if God. In my Heart he is near. To this day it's a loud sense-memory, and a happy one. In the first reading this Sunday we also hear a loud sense-memory from the apostles. 'Suddenly, they heard what sounded like a powerful wind from heaven, the noise of which filled the entire house.' The Gospel tells us that they were all gathered in one place 'for fear of the Jews.' It's not clear whether there is any particular threat that they are hiding from, or whether the...

Scripture Reflections Seeking Understanding

Search This Blog