Jijo Kandamkulathy, CMF
Claretian Publications, Macau
Gospel Reflection – Mk 9:38-48
26th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year B
The gospel passage today begins with the disciples complaining about someone who is not part of their fold using the name of Jesus to drive out demons. They had already judged that the stranger was wrong and tried to stop him from doing such things in the name of Jesus. In the apparently innocent complaint lies a deep-seated sense of insecurity of the disciples. In the same chapter, before this incident, Mark provocatively narrates a fiasco of the disciples in the public display when they could not cast out a mute demon from a boy. Jesus had to intervene and cast it out. Reading them together, it is getting more evident that the disciples who, themselves, could not cast out the demons are already feeling insecure on finding a man capable of doing what they were unable to!
The text is written with typical catechetical value on responding to people who take the name of Jesus or people who do not belong to a certain congregation that they were used to. It is likely that as the gospel was being written, there were believers who were travelling places and often being surprised by Christians who were raised by a different disciple in a different community and expressed the faith in Christ differently. The answer of Jesus is a masterly stroke to the confusion of rites. He says they are also working for the kingdom of God and do not prevent them. The disciples were asked to undo their mistake of preventing the stranger who performed miracles in Jesus’ name.
It is sad to see, sometimes, those who are working for the kingdom of God getting divided in the name of rituals and expressions of words and formulas. However, differences need not necessarily divide us. We can grow in the appreciation of each other and into creative discussions for assimilating and affirming the positive while ignoring the negatives to let them fall into disuse.
Paul gives a shining example of how he reviews a very difficult and disturbing situation for a good purpose. He speaks of two kinds of people who preach Christ. One group is with selfish motives, with envy and rivalry, while the others preach with goodwill. Paul consoles himself by saying that Christ is preached by cheating or otherwise (Philippians 1:15-18).
An antidote for competition and mutual undermining in ministry could be the Appreciative Enquiry Approach. But, unfortunately, the approach has a higher currency among corporates than in spiritual circles. Well, that is how things are now; religion imitates the corporates while the corporates imitate religion. Appreciative enquiry involves 4Ds: 1) Discovery, 2) Dream, 3) Design, 4) Destiny. If we can accomplish the first stage of Discovery, we are good to grow well in spiritual life.
Discovery in the Appreciative Enquiry Approach is a sincere search in finding strengths. It is in a person’s strength that we can source the energy for his or her change. It is applicable in the evaluation of the self and others. In the more traditional pattern of our self-search, we are trained to focus our initial attention on our weaknesses. We often end up looking at the weakness in a magnifying lens and our strengths with a minifying lens and becoming incapable of giving or taking respect.
After Jesus admonishes them not to prevent preaching in his name, he tells them, forget about preaching, even giving a glass of water in his name, will not miss the reward. I am reminded of the title of a Man Booker Prize-winning novel, ‘God of Small Things’. I am not talking of the content of the novel but the title itself. One does not need to do great preaching to be rewarded by God, just small things, like giving a glass of water. He is a God of small things. He is a God who teaches us great things with small matters. He told us the stories of the two coins of the widow, the story of the lost coin of the woman, the story of one lost sheep, about fruits and seeds. He is not telling stories of great wars and conquering kings and great deluges. His canvas is very small. Doing small things makes him happy because he finds the purity of intentions in small things.
The gospel today concludes with an exhortation to enter the kingdom with pure hearts. He speaks of mutilations as better than sinfulness. Some people in the past have taken the text literally and mutilated themselves in a mistaken battle against sin. Jesus has told all sins unequivocally come out of the mind! So, what Jesus speaks of mutilations is about the urgency to run away from occasions and tendencies from evil, not to let the mind wander into sin.
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