YOU ARE NOT FAR FROM THE KINGDOM OF GOD

XXXI SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Mark 12:28-34

Twice a day, in the morning and the evening prayers, the faithful Jew recites the Shema: “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.” (words taken from Dt 6:4-6). It is a prayer and a profession of faith with implications for how we live and situate ourselves in society and the world.

However, in this world of ours, society, in general, has lost its reference to God. We live as if He does not exist. If He did, He has died. Indeed, some people proclaim that God is dead. We have thrown Him out of our lives since He was an obstacle to our freedom. With all our hearts and minds, we want to be the masters of our lives and our world. However, despite all our efforts, that is no more than wishful thinking. At any moment, the raw power of nature shows itself, escaping any attempt at controlling it. A society without God is a society that has lost its way. Time and again, we go through the experience of Adam and Eve. In their audacity to become gods, they rejected God’s Law and established themselves as the rule by which good and evil can be measured. And society turned upside down: evil became good, and good became evil.

We must reassert God’s centrality in our lives and society. When we live by faith, God alone is the absolute, and everything else is relative. And our God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, sets us free, accepting us as his beloved children.

Guiding themselves by the Torah, the Jewish People found 613 commandments that must be followed. One may ask: how could they follow so many commandments? And which one is the first and the most important? During Jesus’ time, that was a big point of discussion. That’s why a scribe asked Jesus: “Which is the first of all the commandments?” Jesus answered, reciting the Shema. The greatest commandment is: “… you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength.” We may say that this is the only commandment since the second one is the natural sequence of the first: “You must love your neighbour as yourself.” We cannot love God without loving our neighbour.

Jesus makes it clear that we do not need so many commandments. Two are enough, and these two can be reduced to a single word: love. God is love, and those who live their lives in God live them in love. If we do that, then we are on the way to the Kingdom of God.

LORD, HAVE MERCY ON ME

XXX SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Mark 10:46-52

Last week, we were told about James and John, the two disciples who approached Jesus with a request. Immediately after that episode, Marc tells the story of a blind man called Bartimaeus. The two stories appear to be completely different. However, they relate to each other in more than one aspect. James and John are followers of Jesus and belong to the inner group of his closest disciples. Despite that, they did not understand the real purpose of Jesus’ mission. They dreamed of power and wealth and wanted Jesus to fulfil that dream for them. 

The blind man spends his time “at the side of the road”, begging. It is as if he is at the side of life, dependent on those who pass by. His blindness is the sign of a hopeless life lived in darkness. He is an outcast on the side of the road. Being rejected, he cannot participate in community life and contribute to the history of his people. He survived due to the kindness of those who pitied him. Aware of his condition, he had a deep desire for liberation and, living in darkness, he longed for the light. When he heard that Jesus of Nazareth was passing on that same road, he was sure that his time had come, and he cried out: “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” That is the cry of all those who need salvation. At the beginning of every mass, we cry out: Lord, have mercy.

In both episodes - the disciples and the blind man - Jesus asked the same question: What do you want me to do for you? James and John, the disciples, asked for positions of power, while Bartimaeus asked for healing and salvation. To different requests, Jesus gave different answers. To the disciples, he said: You do not know what you are asking. On the other side, to the blind man, Jesus said: Go; your faith has saved you. Then, healed, he became a disciple, following Jesus on the way.

Bartimaeus represents each one of us. Oppressed by sin, we must cry out: Lord, have mercy. And Jesus Christ, who is the light of the world, will illumine us, scattering the darkness of our soul. 

With the blind man, let us pray: Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me.

YOU DO NOT KNOW WHAT YOU ARE ASKING

XXIX SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Mark 10:35-45

Before the beginning of his ministry, Jesus went into the desert for a time of reflection and prayer. There, he was confronted with the fundamental choices he had to make to carry out his mission. What would be the best path to bring salvation and establish the Kingdom of God? In their gospels, Matthew and Luke present the three big proposals for Jesus to be the Messiah as the people of Israel expected to have. According to the devil’s proposals, the way to salvation passes through self-centredness, putting God at our service and becoming the all-powerful master of all wealth and all kingdoms of the earth. Jesus refused to go that way and chose the opposite. He came to serve, not to be served, putting his life in the service of God and humanity. He is the servant of the Lord, ready to suffer and shed his blood for our redemption. 

The disciples could not understand and were not ready to accept that such was the true path to salvation. How could suffering be the path to joy and happiness? How could death be the way to life? How could poverty lead to the well-being of all of us? How could being at the service of others lead to a new society? Was not absolute power the only way to impose peace and justice? There must be a mistake. The Grand Inquisitor (of Dostoyevsky in The Brothers Karamazov) thinks that Jesus chose the wrong path: “…then it is impossible to utter anything more truthful than what is contained in his three offers, which Thou didst reject, and which are usually called "temptations." 

Throughout history, time and again, humankind has ignored Jesus’ way to follow Satan’s proposals. The two brothers, James and John, approached Jesus to ask for a high position in his kingdom. And they were not alone in desiring prestige, glory, power and wealth; the other disciples were waiting for the same. We may say that, in this episode, we find the first signs of a power struggle among Jesus’ disciples. To the brothers’ request, Jesus answered immediately: “‘You do not know what you are asking”. Then, to all of them, Jesus gave the example of the earthly rulers who oppress their subjects. The thirst for power and wealth is not the way to the Kingdom of God and will not bring freedom, justice and peace. On the contrary, it is a source of rivalries, conflicts and wars. That’s why Jesus gives a clear command: “This is not to happen among you”. He then proposes himself as a role model: “For the Son of Man himself did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

THE WORD OF GOD IS ALIVE AND ACTIVE

XXVIII SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Hebrews 4:12-13

Whenever we celebrate the Eucharist, after acknowledging our sinfulness, we sit to hear the word of God. During this part of the mass, our attention is concentrated on the lectern (ambo), where the word of God is proclaimed. Special honour is given to the proclamation of the Gospel in the liturgy of the Catholic and Orthodox Churches. We recognise publicly that the Word is Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God. At the beginning of his gospel, John makes it clear that Jesus is the Word incarnate. Through Him, the world was created. He is the life and the light of men (Jn 1:4). In the book of Genesis, we learn that God created everything through his word. And the Holy Scriptures, as they present to us the history of salvation, give witness to the continuous presence and action of the Word. The prophets are the great spokesmen for this Word, challenging, denouncing, calling to repentance and conversion. At the same time, this word reveals God’s plan of salvation while showing the way to faithfulness and fulfilment. Through the word, God commits Himself to carry out the Promise of sending the Messiah to redeem humanity, leading it to the fullness of peace and life.

In the letter to the Hebrews, we are given a short passage on the role of the Word of God. When the word is proclaimed, it becomes “alive and active”, and God speaks to us. It confronts and challenges us, bringing to the open our “secret emotions and thoughts”. It may be painful since “it cuts like any double-edged sword but more finely”. However, that pain is the pre-announcement of healing, bringing wholeness to our lives. We are reminded that “we must give account of ourselves” before God. The word of God is never proclaimed in vain, and we cannot behave as if we did not hear it. We will be answerable before God. Let us open our hearts and be docile to the work of the Spirit so that we listen and act accordingly to the Word of God.

DO NOT DIVIDE WHAT GOD UNITED

XXVII SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Mark 10:2-16

Time and again, the Pharisees approached Jesus to try his knowledge and his accordance with the law. So they came to Jesus and asked about marriage. At that time, there were two schools of thought: The followers of Beit Shammai held a strict approach, allowing divorce only for serious reasons, while the followers of Beit Hillel were much more lenient, accepting divorce even for trivial issues. The Pharisees wanted to know Jesus’ opinion: Did the Law allow or forbid divorce?

As he did many times, Jesus answered by asking: “What did Moses command you?” That is, what does the Law say? The Law allows the man to send away his wife, giving her a certificate of divorce (Dt 24:1-4).  

After this answer, Jesus had the opportunity to confront the Pharisees with God’s plan for marriage. Indeed, the Law allows divorce, but in doing that, the Law is in clear discordance with God’s will for marriage. The commandment concerning divorce was given “because of your hardness of heart”. In a given society, laws are made to regulate prevailing situations, and in doing so, those laws may be against the ideal that God proposes for us. Jesus makes it clear that divorce is always a sign of our sinfulness. From the beginning, God presents us with his plan for marriage. He took the bride to the groom, who accepted her as a partner with whom he could walk along the paths of life. In her, he could see a reflection of himself - “bone from my bones, and flesh from my flesh!” as both of them are made in the image of God. Bring them together, God intended them to be one. And Jesus gives the conclusion: “So then, what God has united, man must not divide.”

Let us pray for all married couples. May their love become stronger and give them the strength to overcome the difficulties they find in their journey together. May the Lord guide and protect them. 

QUEM NÃO É CONTRA NÓS É POR NÓS

XXVI SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Mark 9:38-43, 45, 47-48

We must recognise good wherever we find it and never feel threatened by those who do good, even if they do not belong to our religious group. God has his own ways and is not limited by the fences we build to protect us. We fear what is outside our fence because we cannot control it. That’s why Joshua (in the first reading) wanted to stop the two elders who had remained behind and were not in the group with Moses. Was it not a sign of disunity on their part? They did not show commitment and communion. Thus, they did not deserve to receive the Spirit. Moses saw it differently, realising that those two were a sign and promise of God’s Spirit coming over all members of the people of God.

In the gospel, John was jealous of the man who performed miracles in Jesus’ name, even though he did not belong to the group of disciples. How could an outsider be endowed with such a divine power? There is always the danger of dividing people into two groups: the insiders are good and holy, deserving to receive the fullness of the Spirit, while the outsiders are evil and sinners, being excluded from God’s care and love. Jesus did not allow such a way of thinking. We cannot exclude others since we are not the owners of God’s grace and don’t control it. And Jesus concluded by saying: “Anyone who is not against us is for us.” It is interesting to notice that the outsider who performed miracles did it in the name of Jesus. He is the Saviour and the only way to the Father. It is through him that we are set free. There are countless numbers of people who do not know Jesus well but are guided by his Spirit to work for the goodness of others. For them, we must rejoice and give thanks to God.

MAKE YOURSELVES SERVANTS OF ALL

XXV SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Mark 9:30-37

In the second reading (James 3:16-4:3), taken from James, we are presented with two opposing models of behaviour: one guided by “the wisdom that comes down from above” and the other guided by the wisdom of this world. In between the two, we are compelled to make a choice.

Under the wisdom of this world, we allow “the desires fighting inside our own selves” to be in command of our lives. We are dominated by jealousy and ambition which brings about disharmony, violence, “wars and battles”; so we are “prepared to kill”.

The wisdom that comes from above has a different outcome: it “is essentially something pure; it also makes for peace, and is kindly and considerate; it is full of compassion and shows itself by doing good.” When we guide ourselves by this wisdom, we become peacemakers. And the peacemakers shall be called children of God (Mt 5,9).

In the gospels, we can see jealousy and ambition at work in the apostles. Jesus was explaining to them that he would be arrested, tried, convicted and killed, but they couldn’t understand. Maybe they didn’t want to understand. Moved by ambition, they worried about their positions in the Kingdom of God. All of them wanted the first place to be the greatest. Aware of that, Jesus told them openly: “If anyone wants to be first, he must make himself last of all and servant of all.” Then, he brought a child into their midst to be a role model. They must humble themselves and be ready to welcome those who are small, pure and innocent, like children. The world will despise them and try to get rid of them but, in the end, they will be welcomed into the Kingdom of God.

Let us pray with the psalmist: 

For proud men have risen against me,

  ruthless men seek my life.

  They have no regard for God.

The Lord upholds my life.

But I have God for my help.

  The Lord upholds my life. (Psalm 54).