Word to the Wise
Wednesday, February 23, 2011 - Feb. 23 - St. Polycarp, bishop and martyr
[Sirach 4:11-19 and Mark 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." [Mark]
Sometimes I wonder if this passage from the Gospel of Mark has been forgotten or conveniently ignored by all kinds of "Christians" everywhere. One of the dangers of "organized religion" is its organization. From the way the apostle John is speaking one can see the problem. Organized religion tends to take the position that no one else outside the particular organization has any credibility or standing before God! The question is a simple one with big implications: Who can act in the name of Jesus?
Now, as a Dominican friar and a Catholic priest, I represent one of the largest religious organizations in the world - the Catholic church! The historical and apostolic continuity in faith that is a singular "mark" of our church is very important to me. However, that does not give me the right to say that no one who is non-Catholic can act in the name of Jesus! To say that is to put myself in the position of controlling the Holy Spirit! Herein lies the problem of all organized religion: CONTROL! It is one thing to be faithful to Jesus' teaching and to act in continuity with the Catholic heritage that has developed through the centuries as an expression of that fidelity. It is entirely another thing to say that everyone else lacks the power to act in Jesus' name! Although the Catholic Church has seemed, at times, to be "controlling" in that way, this is not the teaching of the church - at least not according to the most recent ecumenical council or the Catechism.
Lest anyone think this is only a matter of Catholic/non-Catholic relationships, the question of "control" is one that haunts all organized religion from within as well because control is a feature of POWER. The gospel passage today can serve as a reminder of the dangers of becoming possessive about Jesus in such a way that we begin to be "against him." AMEN
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