Word to the Wise
Sunday, September 30, 2018 - 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time - B
[Num 11:25-29; Jas 5:1-6; Mark 9:38-43, 45, 47-48]"Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the people of the Lord were prophets! Would that the Lord might bestow his spirit on them all!" [Numbers] "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]
The fervent wishes of Moses and Jesus offer all of us a challenge today. Would that all of us might accept the task of ministry and preaching! It is not as if others, historically, haven't ever tried. The scriptures from Numbers and the Gospel According to Mark today mention some very early examples. They also mention efforts on the part of the "establishment" to prevent this "unauthorized" ministry. Yes, there may be some risk in this for both the would-be minister and the people. Some pretty weird things have been preached in Jesus' name, but if the preacher-minister is someone who is both baptized and properly catechized, their efforts are sorely needed.
Historically, these efforts were done through Catholic societies or confraternities under the careful supervision of ecclesiastical authorities. Other lay movements were often regarded with suspicion, sometimes rightly so, sometimes from a desire to maintain control of power. The Franciscans were first a lay movement that challenged the corruption of the society around them. The Dominican Order was founded to counteract a strange lay movement known as the Albigensians. In more recent times, the Legion of Mary and the St. Vincent de Paul Society were founded to go directly to the homes of the suffering to minister and share the faith. Similar movments such as Opus Dei, Focolare, the Domestic Church and others bear witness to the faith where they are established. But we do not have to "join" a society or group. The First Letter of Peter [3:15] exhorts us: Always ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope, but do it with gentleness and reverence, keeping your conscience clear, so that, when you are maligned, those who defame your good conduct in Christ may themselves be put to shame.
Jesus and Moses urge us all to be prophets and to preach the truth. That is the baptismal commitment to which we are all called. AMEN