Scripture Reflections for May 19 and May 20th, 2008

Scripture: May 19, 2008, Seventh week in Ordinary Time, Tuesday. James
4:1-10. Psalm 55:7-11,23. Mark 9:30-37. Lectionary # 342:

This is one of the most beautiful scenes and lessons in the life of
Jesus and we have it from the journalistic style of St. Mark. We read it
within the context of the disciples vying with one another to see who is
the best, who is number one. Naturally, this is unacceptable to Jesus who
wants all of his disciples to be humble and honest about who they are
before God, our Father. We see Jesus putting his arms around a little
child while saying, Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me,
and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me." (Mark
9:37). Now, doesn't that seem easy to do? Yet, because of the way we are
we have to really think about this saying and Jesus warmth to the child.
As Catholics we are especially called to this if we are in leadership
positions and working with children and youth. The cases of abuse have
hurt the Body of Christ which needs healing for these sinful acts. To be
humble, honest, and to have a listening heart to God's love which is
expressed in the commandments is essential to understand today's message.
Too often arrogance, individualism, self-centeredness makes us think we are
number one or we at least push for such acclamation. Our sports show us
this that winning is everything and to be MVP is the goal of many of these
"heroes".
Humility in the biblical sense is not a weak virtue. It requires more
strength and sincerity and honesty than most virtues. It needs to be
coupled with kindness and patience in our dealing with youth and children.
Wisdom has been put before us both in James' epistle and in the teaching
and lessons Jesus is giving to us through his disciples. We need a
listening heart which is the ear of the soul. Prayer is essential, too.
Those who wrote the Psalms understood humility and so did Mary, the mother
of Jesus, as we see in her Magnificat or Psalm of praise to God. In the
Psalms that we use each day in the Eucharist we have clear expressions of
the heart that have the right orientation to the loving-kindess of God
(Hesed) and God's mercy toward the poor.
Abraham, Moses, David, Jesus, and Mary show us by their lives and
their total response to God what true humility is. It takes a self-giving
person, a non egocentric one to have the strong and courageous effort that
humility requires. Jesus himself tells us, " Learn from me for I am meek
and humble of heart." The Scriptures also tell us that Moses was one of the
meekest among his people. He was truly a humble man who listened to God.
Amen.

Scripture for May 20th, seventh week of ordinary time. James 4:13-17.
Psalm 49:2-3,6-11. Mark 9:38-40. Lectionary # 343.

Both Mark and Matthew emphasize Jesus as a teacher. His sayings, his
parables, and his wisdom are easily seen in these two Gospels. Mark of
course is an outline for Matthew; while Matthew has found many more sayings
of Jesus and has brought them together in his masterpiece of five sections
on the teachings of Jesus. Today in Mark Jesus teaches us about goodness
seen in others who do not belong to our family, our group, or our religious
persuasion. How do we react to their goodness? Goodness speaks for
itself. Jesus shows his disciples that anyone who does good things should
not be despised but praised. We are to judge persons by their fruits and
when they are good as is often the case we should applaud them not be
jealous or envious. Unfortunately, the pettiness of pride, envy, and
jealousy do color our outlook on others and we distract ourselves from
seeing the good in others. Today's short lesson from Jesus corrects these
aberrations of the heart and helps us to see the bigger picture that Jesus
proposes to us. If someone is casting out the demon of addiction in others
why should we be negative about this good deed? Jesus says, "Do not stop
him, for no one who does a good deed of power in my name will be able soon
afterward to speak evil of me. Whoever is not against us is for us. For
truly I tell you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you
bear the name of Christ, will by no means lose the reward." (Mark 9:39-41).
Unity amidst diversity is important in today's society and world. We
are all made in the image and likeness of God. This is the starting
principle for those who believe in God. We are capable of seeing this
image and likeness and know that it is good. This can also be a guiding
principle in religious dialogue and sharing sessions. We need to have a
both...and outlook rather than our ordinary either...or mentality.
Matthew shows us the importance of not judging the other in this very
strong saying, "How can you say to your neighbor,'Let me take the speck out
of your eye,' while the log is in your own eye.? You hypocrite, first take
the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the
speck out of your neighbor's eye." (Matthew 7:4-5). Amen.