Jesus on Matrimony and Its Fruits, Children, in Connection with His Kingdom – Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

The Scripture Readings of the Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B, Genesis 2:18-24; Psalm 128:1-2, 3, 4-5, 6; Hebrew 2:9-11; Mark 10:2-16, address the sacred nature of the Sacrament of Matrimony, in reference to God’s creation of a man and a woman, and its connection to the Kingdom of God.

Jesus explains that Marriage is inviolable for it is what God enjoins a man and woman as one (i.e. Mark 10:9; Genesis 2:24). This is to bless fruits of matrimony, namely, children, for having created humans in God’s Triune image (i.e. Genesis 1:26-28). So, Jesus blesses children with regard to the Kingdom of God (Mark 10:13-16).

Because humans are so special to Him, God created us in His Triune image (Genesis 1:26-27) and wants us to multiply to be His stewards of the Creation (Genesis 1:28). However, because of the sin of Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:1-24), we have become incapable of fulfilling our service to God to care for the Creation, without His grace. Thus, He incarnated His Son, Christ, (John 1:1, 14), in the human flesh of Jesus in Mary’s womb by the power of the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:26-35), so that we may overcome sin-induced disorders of us, of our marriages, of our families, and of the Creation, and recover the original sacredness in us, namely attaining salvation, through the incarnated Christ’s Paschal Mystery (i.e. Hebrews 2:9-11). Thus, Christ can take us, as God’s children, to his glory (Hebrews 2:10-11). So, we ask God to bless us so that we can walk in His way and be fruitful with children after children (Psalm 128:1-2, 3, 4-5, 6).

In this Sunday’s Gospel Reading (Mark 10:2-16), we find Jesus in Judea across the Jordan River (Mark 10:1a). As crowds of people came to him, Jesus taught them (Mark 10:1b). It means that Jesus had been well-known not only in Galilee but also in Judea by that time. Then, some Pharisees came, as well, and asked Jesus if it would be lawful for a man to divorce his wife, to test him (Mark 10:2).

Were these Pharisees simply assessing Jesus’ knowledge of the Law?

No. They did not come to see Jesus for a legal trivia. Rather, they were hoping that Jesus would be arrested by Herod Antipas, who had beheaded John the Baptist, by  saying that it would be illegal for a man to divorce his wife, as it would be taken as a criticism of Herod, who had committed adultery by divorcing his wife and marrying to his brother’s wife, Herodian. And Jesus was in Herod’s territory.

As he always did to such a challenge, Jesus did not answer in a yes-or-no fashion. Instead, he asked the Pharisees what Moses said about divorce (Mark 10:3). And they said that Moses permitted a man to divorce his wife (Mark 10:4; cf. Deuteronomy 24:1-4).

Then, Jesus explained that Moses had to write such a law to make divorce permissible because of the Israelites’ hardened hearts (Mark 10:5). In fact, Jesus explained during his Sermon on the Mount that the only permissible case for divorce is marital unfaithfulness (Matthew 5:31-32). In fact, this was mentioned by Moses (Deuteronomy 24:2-4). Therefore, the Pharisees’ statement, “Moses permitted a husband to write a bill of divorce and dismiss her"(Mark 10:4), can be misleading, as if Deuteronomy 24:1 were a blanket statement for whenever a husband find his wife “displeasing” to him, without Moses’ specification for wife’s infidelity to make divorce permissible (Deuteronomy 24:2-4).

If we made the Pharisee’s interpretation on Deuteronomy 24:1-4 as a blanket statement to allow men to divorce their wife, when they find their wives displeasing to them, it would allow Herod Antipas’ adultery with Herodias. Herod Antipas divorced his first wife, Phasa'el, and took the wife of his brother, Philip, Herodias, as his second wife, resulting in the execution of John the Baptist, who criticized Antipas’ sin (Mark 6:17-29). This would also justify the divorce of Henry VIII from his first wife, Catarina, through she was not unfaithful to this king of England. It was he who wanted a younger wife, as his marriage to Catarina had produced no heir. In the eyes of God, Henry VIII committed adultery. Thus, he was excommunicated by Pope Paul III in 1535.

Matrimonial infidelity is a phenomenon of a hardened heart. It is, therefore, unfortunate that Moses had to write such a law to make divorce conditionally permissible. Adultery is the most grievous type of marital infidelity (Exodus 20:14) and punishable by death in God’s Law (Leviticus 20:10; Deuteronomy 22:22)

Then, Jesus spoke the truth of marriage in connection to God’s will on creating a man and a woman. Thus, he said:

Because of the hardness of your hearts he wrote you this commandment. But from the beginning of creation, “God made them male and female. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” So they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, no human being must separate (Mark 10:6-9).

Because of the hardened hearts, due to sins, some marriages suffer from infidelity. It can be detrimental to wellbeing of faithful spouses. In order to protect it, Moses permitted divorce. But, Jesus reminded that divorce is, indeed, against God’s will, which is to enjoin a man and a woman to become one in their matrimonial union. And this will of God is traced back to the Creation of a man and a woman to be suitable companions to each other, as addressed in the First Reading (Genesis 2:18-24). e

Then, in the house, Jesus answered to the disciples’ question about marriage and divorce:

Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery (Mark 10:11-12).

This statement of Jesus on divorce is incorporated in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC), in Part III, Section 2 on the Ten Commandments, Chapter II, Article 6: The Sixth Commandment, IV. Offenses Against The Dignity Of Marriage (2380-2391). And the sacred nature, due to God’s will, of matrimony, as one of the Seven Sacrament is addressed in Part II, Section 2 on the Seven Sacraments, Chapter III, Article 7, I. Marriage in God's Plan (1602-1620). The procedure to evaluate the validity of matrimony and to annul invalid cases is described in the Code of Canon Law, Part III, Title 1 (1671-1707).

These are to protect the Catholics from grave sin of adultery and suffering from invalid unions, to assure the sacredness of the Sacrament of Matrimony, which is in God’s will to bless men and women in their matrimonial union for fruitfulness, which includes procreation.

It was not a coincidence that people were bringing their children to Jesus so that they might be touched by him (Mark 10:13a), as he was speaking of the inviolable nature of marriage and the grave sin of adultery as a violation of God’s will on enjoining men and women in matrimonial unions. But the disciples rebuked them (Mark 10:13b).

Perhaps, the disciples felt that these people with children were nuisance. On the contrary, Jesus welcomed them, placing his hands on children, embracing and blessing them (Mark 10:16), upon saying:

Let the children come to me; do not prevent them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it (Mark 10:14-15).

Why did Jesus say this? Was it because he loved children?

In fact, there is more to his love of children.

For Jesus, children make a suitable metaphorical model for his Kingdom, because only those who are as humble as children are allowed to enter the Kingdom. Being humble in this context means being obedient to their leader, who suffered from them (i.e. Hebrews 2:10), as sheep are so to their Good Shepherd (John 10:14,27-28), thus walking in his way (Palm 128:1). And this is the way to the Kingdom through obedience and humility. They are dependent on his providence, just as they are so on their parents’ care to thrive.

Jesus made it clear that children are associated with the Kingdom for it is for them and for those who accept it as they do (Mark 10:14-15). And, God enjoins men and women for their matrimonial sacramental union (Genesis 2:18-24) so that the earth will be blessed with fruits of this union (Genesis 1:28). And this is how the Kingdom is established on earth as it is in heaven. He did not want the disciples to prevent children from coming to him (Mark 10:14), as it is disrupting and disturbing to the ontogeny of the Kingdom on earth. And he did not want the original sacredness of matrimony to be violated by divorce, which also make children disturbed, and adultery, which is in association with divorce (Mark 10:6-12). In this light, the Church teaches against contraceptives and abortion, as these prevent and destroy children.

The Kingdom of God is hinged upon wellbeing of children, who are humble, obedient to Christ, and dependent on his grace. Anything that is detrimental to this, such as divorce, adultery, contraceptives, and abortion, are in violation of God’s will to bless the sacramental matrimonial unions of men and women, as enjoined by Him, to be fruitful with their children. He suffered and died so that children can be brought to glory in the Kingdom.

St. Francis of Assisi - an Imitator of Christ, a Fool in the World but Blessed by the Lord

On October 4, the Roman Catholic Church honors the life of St. Francis of Assisi.

God sure blesses those who are foolish in the eyes of the world but radically obedient to Him through His Son, Jesus Christ. One of such fools is St. Francis of Assisi.

What, then, makes Francis fool from a worldly standpoint but exalted by God?

It is his choice to embrace poverty, which Francis called “Lady Poverty”, for the sake of Christ on the Cross, to be like him, though he was the privileged heir of a wealthy merchant, Pietro di Bernardone. Francis was destine to inherit his father’s affluence. He could have kept his privileged life of pleasure, as he used to. But he denounced all of his privileges and chose to embrace Lady Poverty and to “boast in the Cross”(Galatians 6:14a).

Francis’ choice to embrace Lacy Poverty follows the way Christ, as Paul encourages to do so in these words:

Have among yourselves the same attitude that is also yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross (Philippians 2:5-8).

The First Reading (Galatians 6:14-18) sounds like Francis encouraging his fellow friars to follow him in choosing to embrace Lady Poverty so that they can also boast in the Cross, as living in poverty also means humility. But this humility demands them to crucify themselves, as the world is crucified, meaning that we are made nothing in the world, as the world is made so, by the Cross, on which Christ died for us.

The text of the First Reading is:

Brothers and sisters:
May I never boast except in the cross
of our Lord Jesus Christ,
through which the world has been crucified to me,
and I to the world.
For neither does circumcision mean anything,
nor does uncircumcision,
but only a new creation.
Peace and mercy be to all who follow this rule
and to the Israel of God.

From now on, let no one make troubles for me;
for I bear the marks of Jesus on my body.  

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit,
brothers and sisters. Amen.

By boasting in the Cross of Christ (Galatians 6:14a), Francis is also boasting in Christ (1 Corinthians 1:31; cf. Jeremiah 9:24).  It is to glorify Christ and him on the Cross, rather than ourselves and our earthly possessions, such as wealth and statuses. Therefore, it is humility. In a way, boasting in the Cross, boasting in Christ, is like Mary’s Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55), which begins with Mary’s words of joyfully glorifying God, “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior” (Luke 1:46-47).

The above passage of the First Reading also reflects Francis’ primacy of Christ. So he is calling his friars to live a Christ-centered life, upon crucifying themselves to the Cross, so that Christ is living in them (Galatians 2:20), thus, being a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 6:15).

For Francis, being in a new creation means being all worldly things stripped out, including carnal desires. This was radically symbolized when he took all his cloths in denouncing a worldly life and his privilege to inherit his father’s wealth, as well as, severing his earthly family tie. And by putting on a rag, given by a bishop, he became a new creation, detaching himself from the worldly matter and concerns. Therefore, he attained freedom from worldly and carnal matters that became obstacles to the closeness to Christ.

By embracing Lady Poverty, upon denouncing all of his earthly privileges, Francis became a new creation. This also means his conversion. But his transformation from an old creation began while he was still living in a privilege life, pursuing carnal desires. Francis always not only had compassion but also acted on it by helping the poor. So, he often gave to them by giving away nice cloths of his, given by his father. He also used his family’s money to give to the poor. As his act of charity escalated, it drew unfavorable attention from his father, because it was ultimately out of his expenses. And this led to a conflict between Francis and his father. For Francis to reconcile with his father, it would mean to remain in his privileged life, being obedient to him. But Francis chose to be obedient to Christ, who called him in vision, “Francis, Francis, go and repair my house, which as you can see, is falling into ruins!”, while gazing upon him in the Crucifix at San Damiano Church, which was nearly abandoned and in ruin.

In following this call of Christ, at first, Francis took it literally. So, he began to repair this neglected Church through his carpentry work, one brick at a time, by himself. Later other men joined him to repair San Damiano Church near Assisi. This is how the Franciscan order began.

But Francis’ radical embrace of Lady Poverty was a real way to repair the Church, which had already lost herself to worldly concerns and affairs, for having been an imperial institution, infested with power struggles among clergies. Unlike the Protestant Reformation, Francis did not leave the Church to start his own movement. Rather, he made a radical return to the original Apostolic Church, in which all members embraced poverty and obedience. The question is: Does the Church today really follows the way St. Francis of Assisi imitated Christ by embracing Lady Poverty as a way of living with the virtue of humility and obedience to Christ? At least, this is what Pope Francis tries, as his papacy is inspired by him, as he confesses in his first encyclical, Laudato Si (10-12).

So, Pope Francis wants the Church to serve as a field hospital to those whose souls are wounded by sins as a result of living a worldly life of carnal desires. And this field-hospital-like Church is a compassionately welcoming home to the poor, the sick, the vulnerable, the marginalized, and so forth. Not a club house for the privileged.

In the Gospel Reading (Matthew 11:25-30), Jesus is speaking of and to Francis:

I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
for although you have hidden these things
from the wise and the learned
you have revealed them to little ones.

Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will.
All things have been handed over to me by my Father.
No one knows the Son except the Father,
and no one knows the Father except the Son
and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.

Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest.  
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am meek and humble of heart;
and you will find rest for your selves.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.

One of such little ones, to whom the Lord reveal what is kept from the worldly wise is Francis, for being a fool in a worldly sense to be radically faithful to Christ the Lord, embracing Lady Poverty and living a life of the Primacy of Christ, as reflected in the First Reading.  So, Jesus takes care of Francis, by letting him have his yoke, not the worldly one, by being one with him. This way, Francis enjoys the peace that only Christ can give (i.e. John 14:27).

Now the question is: Are you willing to be a fool, like St. Francis of Assisi, by giving up all your worldly privileges and embracing the Lady Poverty, to repair today’s Church, mired with power struggles and secularism, misunderstanding of “aggiornamento” ? This question is especially for those who are called to be priests, though Francis chose not to be a priest, remaining to serve as a deacon, freeing himself from Church’s politics, which was like the disciples arguing who among them was the greatest (Matthew 18:1-4//Mark 9:33-36//Luke 9:46-47).

Humility and Charity: A Lesson from St, Therese of the Little Child Jesus, the Youngest Doctor of the Church

The Roman Catholic Church begins the month of October, which is a Marian month of the Holy Rosary, by honoring the exemplary life of St. Therese of the Little Child Jesus, a French Carmelite sister in Lisieux, and the youngest Doctor of the Church.

It is not that she has a Ph.D. in theology, Therese never attended a college. It is not that she has written heavy-weight theological books, like St. Augustine of Hippo’s De Trinitate and St. Thomas Aquinas’ Summa Theologiae, but her personal writings, such as L'histoire D'une Ame (The Story of a Soul), that offers us deep mystical spiritual insights to enrich our faith in Christ.

L'histoire D'une Ame is her autobiography, in which she describes herself as a little child of Jesus and a little flower in God’s garden. She also candidly confesses her true love in God. Therese writes:

My God, Thou knowest that I have ever desired to love Thee alone. It has been my only ambition. Thy love has gone before me, even from the days of my childhood. It has grown with my growth, and now it is an abyss whose depths I cannot fathom.

Love attracts love; mine darts towards Thee, and would fain make the abyss brim over, but alas! it is not even as a dewdrop in the ocean. To love Thee as Thou lovest me, I must make Thy Love mine own. Thus alone can I find rest. O my Jesus, it seems to me that Thou couldst not have overwhelmed a soul with more love than Thou hast poured out on mine, and that is why I dare ask Thee to love those Thou hast given me, even as Thou lovest me.    L'histoire D'une Ame, XI

Therese is fervently in love with God, because she knows that she enjoys being nursed by God’s love, as to be breast fed by His tender love, reflected in the First Reading (Isaiah 66:10-14c). She sees herself as a nursling of God, knowing that her existence is thanks to His loving providence. For this, Therese devoted herself to Eucharistic Adoration.

In fact, it is God’s love being internalized in her that drove her vocation. Theresa writes

Considering the mystical body of the Church I had not recognized myself in any of the members described by Saint Paul, or rather I desired to see myself in them all. Charity gave me the key to my vocation. I understood that if the Church had a body composed of different members, the most necessary and most noble of all could not be lacking to it, and so I understood that the Church had a Heart, and that this Heart was burning with love. I understood it was love alone that made the Church’s members act, that if Love ever became extinct, apostles would not preach the Gospel and martyrs would not shed their blood. I understood that Love comprised all vocations, that love was everything, that it embraced all times and places… in a word: that it was eternal! Then, in the excess of my delirious joy, I cried out: O Jesus, my Love... my vocation, at last I have found it… my vocation is Love! Yes, I have found my place in the Church, and it is you, O my God, who have given me this place; in the heart of the Church, my Mother, I shall be Love. Thus I shall be everything, and thus my dream will be realized.  Manuscript B, 3

Therese’s love, which is God’s love for her internalized in her, manifests in her caritas, through her offering of herself as a living sacrifice (Romans12:1). And as she indicates above, the caritas that drives her vocation reflects Paul’s description of love as an expression of selflessness and humility (i.e. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8). And this is further addressed by C.S. Lewis in his Screwtape Letters.

In fact, because of her child-like humility, Therese was able to receive and internalize God’s love, turning it into her love, offering herself to God’s disposal for the Church, as a living sacrifice. Without humility, we cannot receive and offer love. One important teaching that we can receive from this youngest Doctor of the Church, St. Therese of the Little Child Jesus is that we are called to be humble so that we receive God’s love for its results, and it is to offer ourselves as living sacrifices for God’s will to be done in Christ’s name. For Therese, anything that only benefits her but nobody else is against caritas. And self-interest cannot let God’s love manifest as one’s caritas. This is why she remains to be a little child of God, the Little Child of Jesus, blooming as a little flower in God’s beautiful garden. And such humility of Therese is reflected in Jesus’ words in the Gospel Reading (Matthew 18:1-4).

Jesus says:

Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me (Matthew 18:3-5).

Theresa writes:

I hope, with God’s help, to be of use to even more than two missionaries. I pray for all, not forgetting our Priests at home, whose ministry is quite as difficult as that of the missionary preaching to the heathen. . . . In a word, I wish to be a true daughter of the Church, like our holy Mother St. Teresa, and pray for all the intentions of Christ’s Vicar. That is the one great aim of my life. But just as I should have had a special interest in my little brothers had they lived, and that, without neglecting the general interests of the Church, so now, I unite myself in a special way to the new brothers whom Jesus has given me. All that I possess is theirs also. God is too good to give by halves; He is so rich that He gives me all I ask for, even though I do not lose myself in lengthy enumerations. As I have two brothers and my little sisters, the novices, the days would be too short were I to ask in detail for the needs of each soul, and I fear I might forget something important. Simple souls cannot understand complicated methods, and, as I am one of their number, Our Lord has inspired me with a very simple way of fulfilling my obligations. L'histoire D'une Ame, XI

When Jesus said, “I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike (Matthew 11:25)”, he was referring to a humble person, like St. Therese, as the childlike, as he was also referring likewise, when he said, “children”(Matthew 18:3).

Jealousy and Greed, from Discontentment due to Innner Insecurity, Have No Place in the Discipleship - Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

Insecure attachment to God, resulting in fragile faith in Him, tends to result in jealousy and greed. These two psychologically pathological factors are addressed in the Scripture readings of the 26^th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B (Numbers 11:25-29; Psalm 19:8, 9b,10, 12–14; James 5:1-6; Mark 9:38-43, 45, 47-8).

Jealousy is addressed in the First Reading (Numbers 11:25-29) and the Gospel Reading (Mark 9:38-43, 45, 47-8), while problem of greed is addressed in the Second Reading (James 5:1-6). And we find remedy to these problems in Responsorial Psalm (19:8, 9b,10, 12–14), reminding that it is God’s Law that gives joy to those who are faithful to Him. This means that those who fall to the vices of jealousy and greed do not revere God and appreciate what He gives, represented with His Law, in this context. In other words, those who truly appreciate what God provides are psychologically secure, thus, being satisfied with God’s providence (Psalm 23:1-6). As sheep fully trust in their shepherd, we have steadfast faith in Christ, who is our Good Shepherd (John 10:11,14). And if this is truly the case with us, then, we have no reason to complain because we are not jealous of what others have and be greedy. S we are content and joyful (Philippians 4:10-13).

In the First Reading (Numbers 11:25-19), we see Joshua complaining to Moses about two elders, Eldad and Medad, to forbid them from prophesizing, because God also gave them the spirit transpired from Moses, even though they did not come out of the tent, while the rest of the elders who received the spirit, were outside the camp, as called by Moses. It was like Joshua sayin. g, “Moses, my lord, it’s not fair that Eldad and the other Medad also received your spirit and began prophesizing!” In response, however, Moses admonished Joshua for making such a complaint, sensing that it came out of Joshua’s jealousy. So, Moses said to Joshua:

Are you jealous for my sake? If only all the people of the Lord were prophets! If only the Lord would bestow his spirit on them! (Numbers 11:29).

Ironically, this complaint of Joshua was projected to what God did in response to Moses’ complaint to God about the burden of shepherding constantly complaining Israelites (Numbers 11:11-15). After leaving Sinai, the Israelites complained again (Number 11:1-10), as they did before (Exodus 15:22-27;16:1-7, 11-12; 17:1-7; 32:1).  And their complaints really wore Moses down, and he cried out to God.

In response to Moses’ complaint, God instructed him to gather seventy elders to the camp and promised him to put some of his spirit on them (Numbers 11:16-23). So, Moses brought seventy elders around the tent (Numbers 11:24). Then, God came down in the cloud and spoke to them, and putting the spirit from Moses on them, and they temporarily prophesized (Numbers 11:25).

This transfer of some of the spirit from Moses to the seventy elders took place outside the camp. While this was happening, Eldad and Medad, remained inside the camp. But they also actually received the spirit and began prophesizing. (Numbers 11:26). And obviously, out of jealousy, as Moses put it, Joshua thought it was not fair and complained to Moses (Numbers 11:27-28).

Joshua was very faithful to God and Moses. Yet, his imperfection manifested in complaining about what he thought as unfair that Eldad and Medad received the spirit and prophesized, thought they did not come out the camp as the rest of the elders did to receive the spirit from Moses by God.

In the Gospel Reading (Mark 9:38-43, 45, 47-8), we see John complaining to Jesus about a person exercising in his name, though this person was not one of the disciples and did not stop when they tried (v. 38). This is like Joshua’s complaint about Eldad and Medad (Numbers 11:27-28). So it is likely out of jealousy. And Jesus’ response to John’s complaint (Mark 9:39-41) is similar to Moses’ response to Joshua (Numbers 11:29). So Jesus said to John:

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. Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ, amen, I say to you, will surely not lose his reward (Mark 9:39-41).

This was a moment of John’s learning curve about ministering in Jesus’ name. Through these words, Jesus taught that anyone (v. 41) who does what he commands is considered to be his disciples, even though they are not among the twelve disciples. If they see persons, to whom they perm mighty deeds in Jesus’ name, belong to Christ, then, they are rather considered to be the twelve disciples’ coworkers in Jesus’ pastoral work, not as opponents or competitors, to be stopped or eliminated.

But Jesus also described who are to be condemned, and these are those who cause people who belong to him to sin (Mark 9:42-43, 45, 47-48).

In Mark 9, verses 44 and 46 are not found. A likely reason for this is that these verses were removed because they were not found in the original Greek text but added by scribes.

Like Joshua and John, we also complain out of jealousy. In fact, we complain when our pursuit of desire is disrupted, frustrated for not having what we want. Then, when we find it in others, we become jealous of them. Psychologically, we are more likely to complain out of jealousy if we are internally insecure (Bowlby, 1982)*. Internal insecurity also contributes to greed (Chen, 2018)**, against which Jesus speaks in the Second Reading (James 5:1-6).

We may not be aware of covert jealousy when we complain.

Both jealousy and envy are emotions of discontentment. Compared to envy, jealousy tends to manifest with hostility. Primary emotion behind the plot to have Jesus killed was religious leaders’ envy (i.e. Matthew 27:18), manifested in hostile jealousy to set up false witnesses (e.g. Matthew 26:59-63) and conspire the Roman authority to kill him (i.e. John 18:28-40). Envy festers into jealousy and resentment.

To prevent this problem, we must be securely attached to God (John 15:4) so that we are always content and joyful as reflected in the Responsorial Psalm ( 19:8, 9b,10, 12–14) and Psalm 23.

*Bowlby J. (1982). Attachment and loss: retrospect and prospect. Am. J. Orthopsychiatry 52, 664–678. doi: 10.1111/j.1939-0025.1982.tb01456.x

**Chen, B. (2018). An evolutionary life history approach to understanding greed. Personality and Individual Differences, 127, 74-78. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2018.02.006

Steadfast Faith and Impartial Selfless Faith-Driven Love of Neighbors: Ss. Damian and Cosmas

On September 26, the Roman Catholic Church honors Ss. Damian and Cosmas, who were twin brothers, practicing medicine in the Roman province of Cilicia in the third century. It was when being Christianity and helping Christian meant to be arrested and killed throughout the Roman Empire. Damian and Cosmas were captured, tortured, and executed, for being Christian.

Both the First Reading (Wisdom 3:1-9) and the Gospel Reading (Matthew 10:28-33) of these twin Saints’ memorial reflect their steadfast faith, tested through persecution, resulting in their martyrdom.

Under persecution, it may look “foolish” to keep the faith, because it comes with a high fatal risk. It would be “smarter” to apostatize and live. And that is how the worldly “wisdom” teaches.

If faith is not genuine and strong enough, it cannot be sustained under persecution. Those whose faith is not steadfast are likely to fall to a “smart” option to save their earthly lives, forfeiting eternal life. In the eyes of God, there is nothing “foolish” about it. So, Jesus said:

Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna (Matthew 10:28).

The one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna refers to Satan and its agents permeated throughout the world, tempting us with “smart” and “easy” way to save bodily lives at the expense of soul, which is the seat of eternal life. The true faith cannot be swayed by temptations caused by the one who can destroy both soul and body in a hellish place where garbage was dumped and burned, known as Gehenna.

Exemplary faith, which resulted in martyrdom is one thing about Damian and Cosmas. Another admirable thing about these twin Saints is their genuine practice of agape, selfless love. These twin physicians never accepted payment from their patients.  So were known as “silverless ones”.

Keeping faith is one thing but putting the faith in practice of love, which Jesus commanded (John 13:34-35) is another. Otherwise, the faith is as good as dead (i.e. James 2:14-26).

In fact, faith is a gift of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:9), and love is one aspect of the multifaceted fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22). Among faith, hope, and love, love is the greatest (1 Corinthians 13:13), as it makes all our virtues worth practicing (1 Corinthians 13:1-3). In other words, faith without love is not functional (i.e. Galatians 5:6).

The faith of Damian and Cosmas was truly through the Holy Spirit, bore abundant fruit of love, through their works of mercy in compassion for their sick brothers and sisters in Christian communities. Because their medical care was genuinely motivated by faith, they did not charge for their services at all. And they made sure nobody was left without their care because of socioeconomic status and other social factors. In fact, their faith-driven compassionate medical works reflects these words of Jesus:

Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but the One who sent me (Mark 9:37).

As children were regarded as “nobodies” in Palestine during the time of Jesus. They were rather “invisible” in the society, and it is particularly the case with orphans. Because children were not regarded as deserving dignity, practice of child sacrifice to pagan deities was rather uncommon (e.g. Jeremiah 7:31). But Jesus drew the disciples’ attention to a child, whom the society regarded as “nobody”, and taught them to welcome the child, as it means to welcome Jesus and the Father who sent him in our midst. In other words, Jesus was teaching the disciples to care for those who have been marginalized and ignored, such as the poor, the sick, and so forth, represented by the little child whom Jesus put in the disciples’ midst.

This teaching is further addressed by Jesus in the eschatological and soteriological context:

Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me (Matthew 25:34-36).

Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me (Matthew 25:40).

Those who took noticed of the presence of their marginalized brothers and sisters  and cared for them, are blessed by the Father, as it really means to receive Christ and the Father who sent him to us. And Ss. Damian and Cosmas have been blessed by the Father for their faith-driven compassionate works of care to "these least", represented by the little child whom Jesus placed in his disciples' midst. 

In the faith-driven medical service works of Ss. Damiana and Cosmas, “these least brothers and sisters”, were take care, just as well as, those with wealth and status. There is no partiality (i.e. James 2:1-9) in the love demonstrated in the wors of faith by Damian and Cosmas, as God shows no partiality (i.e. Acts 10:34; Romans 2:9). Thus, their medical care was given to anyone just as the Good Samarital took care of a stranger (Luke 10:30-37).

Steadfast faith, not only withstood through persecution but also demonstrated in impartial works of love for neighbrs,  characterize Ss. Damian and Cosmas.

Words of Agur for a Mission Lesson - Wednesday of the Twenty-Fifth Week in Ordinary Time, Year II

 What do you make out of Proverb 30:5-9 and Luke 9:1-6?

This was a question I asked during my Wednesday Bible teaching, as the former is the First Reading and the latter is the Gospel Reading of Wednesday of the Twenty-Fifth Week in Ordinary Time, Year II.

The First Reading (Proverbs 30:5-9) is taken from Agur’s oracle (Proverbs 30).

Agur is son of Jakeh,  the Massaite. As “Massa” is one of the offspring of Ishmael (Genesis 25:14), he can be a descendant of Jacob’s twin brother. Ishmael. The place, “Massa” is located in northern Arabia. But the Hebrew word, “massa”( מַשָּׂא), means “a load, burden, lifting, bearing, tribute”.  Then, it makes sense that Agur was weary (Proverbs 30:1). But, he was not just a man feeling burdened of whatever the heavy load that he had to carry but seeing God and His wisdom humbly, acknowledging his ignorance, believing in Him and trusting His Word to thrive in carrying his burden (Proverbs 30:1-9).

In the First Reading (Proverbs 30:5-9), we see Agur’s total trust in God and His grace. This is comparable to the Sucipe prayer of St. Ignatius of Loyola in his Spiritual Exercises 234, which seeks nothing but God’s grace, humbly acknowledging it is enough, while asking to remove everything that may distract him form trusting in God and being satisfied with His grace alone. For Agur, God’s Word is the kind of grace he needed. And he knew the Word brings wisdom, besides the strengths to carry his life’s load, which may be a cross that he carry, as taught by Jesus upon denying self (Matthew 16:24//Mark 8:34). Agur certainly denied himself for belittling himself (i.e. Proverbs 30:1-6).

Now, connecting the First Reading (Proverbs 30:5-9) to the Gospel Reading (Luke 9:1-6), we can see Agur as an exemplary figure to be sent on a mission, as this Gospel Reading is about Jesus sending his twelve disciples on mission with instructions.

In sending the disciples, Jesus said, “Take nothing for the journey, neither walking stick, nor sack, nor food, nor money, and let no one take a second tunic”(Luke 9:3). In other words, Jesus was saying that they go on mission only with what they absolutely needed and bring nothing else, because anything “extra” may distract them from their missionary tasks. This corresponds to these words of humble Agur, “Put falsehood and lying far from me, give me neither poverty nor riches; provide me only with the food I need; Lest, being full, I deny you, saying, ‘Who is the Lord?’ Or, being in want, I steal, and profane the name of my God”(Proverbs 30:8-9).

Agur humbly acknowledged that it is God who is the reason of his existence. Therefore, he asked only what he absolutely needed to make sure his eyes remained fixed in Him. The food he needed, in this context, is His refined and pure Word. He certainly understood that humans, being created by Him, cannot live with bread alone but what comes out of His mouth (Deuteronomy 8:3; cf. Matthew 4:4). And the Word, along with the Holy Spirit, comes out of God’s mouth.

As Jesus said, going on mission is to proclaim to evangelize and to bring healing to those whom they come in contact with (Luke 9:6). For this, one on mission certainly needs the Word, which speaks the good news and can heal. In fact, the Word gives life, as it comes out of Jesus, as it is the Holy Spirit (i.e. John 6:63). Therefore, a mission cannot be accomplished without carrying and bringing the Word. And we make sure the Word we carry on our respective missions is kept pure, not being tampered (i.e. Proverbs 30:6; cf. Deuteronomy 4:2; 12:32; Revelations 22:18-19).

Jesus understood that not everyone his disciples bring the Word to proclaim the good news and to bring healing welcomes them and accept the Word. So he said:

As for those who do not welcome you, when you leave that town, shake the dust from your feet in testimony against them (Luke 9:5).

Shaking the dust from feet was certainly a testimony against those who do not accept, as it was a custom of Jesus’ time in Palestine. It’s like sarcastically saying, “Thank you very little for your hospitality”.  But, according to Most Rev. Mark Bartosic, Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Chicago, this can also mean that Jesus was instructing the disciples not to carry negative feeling toward those who reject and unwelcomed them, as they leave their houses. This way, the disciples are not affected by any previous negative experience when they reach out to new hosts, so that the Word they carry (massa) remains pure, not contaminated by their negative emotions from previous hosts. And this reminds me of my hospital chaplain training, being instructed not to carry any negative feeling from “bad” patient as I reach out to another patient, by “washing off” such feeling as I leave “bad” patient’s room.

Commanding to Serve People with Humility and Care for the Least upon the Second Foretelling of Jesus' Passion, Death, and Resurrection - Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

The Gospel Reading of the 25^th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B, Mark 9:30-37, has two themes: Jesus foretelling his passion, death, and resurrection for the second time (vv.30-32) and teaching on humble servantship and compassion for the vulnerable in response to the disciples’ argument on who the greatest among them is (vv.33-37). The first part of the Gospel Reading (Mark 9:30-32) echoes the First Reading (Wisdom 2:12, 17-20), in which Christ, in his suffering, is reflected, and the second part of the Gospel Reading (Mark 9:33-37) corresponds to the Second Reading (James 3:16-4:3), in which James speaks against selfish passion for ambition.

In the Gospel Reading of the previous Sunday, the 24^th Sunday, Mark 8:27-35, Jesus foretold his passion, death, and resurrection, directly to his disciples for the first time, upon Peter’s correct identification of Jesus as the Christ. But then, Peter protested the prospect of the Christ’s suffering and death and rebuked by Jesus for that. Following this, Jesus spoke of self-denial and carrying a cross as necessary conditions for the discipleship.

The Gospel Reading of this Sunday, the 25^th Sunday, Mark 9:30-37, begins with Jesus’ second foretelling of his passion, death, and resurrection. Then, it describes how the disciples reacted to this.

Again, only to his disciples, Jesus prophesized his own suffering, death, and resurrection, after doing so in Caesarea Philippi (Mark 8:31). So Jesus said:

The Son of Man is to be handed over to men and they will kill him, and three days after his death he will rise (Mark 9:31).

Hearing the prospect of Jesus’ suffering, death, and resurrection, again, the disciples did not know what to make out of it and were afraid to ask him a question about it (Mark 3:32).

Why were they unable to understand and ask Jesus to explain what he meant by being handed over to be tortured and killed but would rise after three days?

The disciples could not yet understand the salvific Paschal Mystery of Jesus, perhaps, they were not able to see his suffering, death, and resurrection, in the fourth servant song (Isaiah 52:13-53:12) in deutero-Isaiah (40-55). Probably, it was because they were caught up with an impression that the Christ would be the victorious king to rule all nations on earth from Jerusalem (i.e. Zechariah 9:9-10). To a typical human mind, a triumphant messianic king of Israel is not a one to be handed over to his enemies and killed by them. Rather, it was him, who would conquer them for his reign of peace. But even it was puzzling to them, why the disciples did not ask Jesus to explain about being handed over and killed by men but rise after three days?

To put it simply, the disciples were abashed to ask Jesus a question. Then, why would they feel embarrassed to ask a question on such an important and serious matter about Jesus?

It is likely that what made them ashamed to ask a question was their covert pride, as shame and price are basically two sides of the same coin (Beall & Tracy, 2020)*. And we see how their hidden pride manifested in their behaviors on their way to Capernaum, after being told of Jesus’ forthcoming suffering, death, and resurrection.

As they were moving to Capernaum, the disciples were arguing among themselves who was the greatest, but they remailed silent when Jesus confronted and asked them what they were arguing (Mark 9:33-34).

Rather than being concerned for Jesus on what he just foretold about his passion, death, and resurrection, they were preoccupied with their own self-consciousness, which was the first consequence of Original Sin (Genesis 3:1-13). And their covert pride was manifesting in their selfish ambition to be the greatest.

Then, Jesus knocked the disciple’s pride off, saying:

If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all (Mark 9:35).

Furthermore, pulling a child to his side (Mark 9:36), and said:

Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but the One who sent me (Mark 9:37).

These statements make it obvious that Jesus wanted his disciples to be first leaders of his Church. But he did not want them to keep their pride inside, because pride of leaders corrupt the Church, as it is comparable to the yeast of the Pharisees (Matthew 16:6//Mark 8:15//Luke 12:1). So, Jesus demands the disciples to be the last ones among the people, being the least among them, and serve them, in order to be leaders of his Church. It is, indeed, the servant leadership, which he taught them through his own example by washing the disciples’ feet (John 13:1-20). And he also commanded them to care for those who were seem as the least, as represented by the child, whom he took to his side, because receiving the least among people with care means receiving not only him but also the Father who sent him. It is so because he and the Father as one consubstantially (John 10:30), for he is in Him, and Him in him (John 10:38). In fact, this is echoed by these words of Jesus to the disciples at the conclusion of his teaching of the servant leadership by washing their feet:

Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me (John 13:20).

Furthermore, this teaching is echoed more sternly by these words of Jesus against the self-righteous whose pride blinded them to the presence of the least among people, namely, the presence of Christ in the poor, vulnerable, marginalized:

And the king will say to them in reply, “Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.” Then he will say to those on his left, “Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.” Then they will answer and say, “Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?” He will answer them, “Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.” And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life (Matthew 25:40-46).

It was the disciples’ furtive pride that blinded them from the Christological truth in Jesus’ suffering, death, and resurrection, when he foretold. It was their covert pride that kept them from asking Jesus a question to understand this truth when they did not understand. And it was this pride in themselves, manifesting in their selfish ambitions to be the greatest among them, keeping their minds away from Jesus upon his second foretelling of his passion, death, and resurrection. To snap this pride, Jesus taught the importance of humble servantship and care for the least among people. Because it also means to care not only Christ but also the Father who sent him.

There is a Japanese company that requires newly hired college graduate workers to perform janitorial tasks, including cleaning toilets, during their new employee orientation. Janitorial tasks are not in their job description. They are not hired as the company’s cleaning staff. Nevertheless, all new employees have to perform janitorial works, to perform the tasks on their job descriptions.

Why does this company mandate its new employees to do cleaning jobs during the orientation?

It is because managers must know and understand the service behind the clean work environment. They should not take the cleanliness at work for granted.

If you know what it was like to clean toilet, because you have done it, you sure become a manager who treats cleaning staff with appreciation and great care for their needs. But if you have no experience as a cleaning staff, you are at risk of treating them as if they were invisible.

Pay attention in your own work environment to see how many workers, especially managers, at least say hello to cleaning staff. Perhaps, only a few say “Hello” and “Thank you”.  To those who say nothing, the cleaning staff were not seen as their work team members. In many cases, these cleaning crews are not your company employees but contract workers set by an outsourcing company.

In this company, CEO himself occasionally joins its cleaning crews, mopping floors, taking trash out, and cleaning toilets. In fact, he is very good at cleaning toilets, because he has been doing it since he or she was hired.

And the company’s cleaning staff are not dispatched from an outsourcing company on contract. They are the company’s official employees because they are valued team members. In this company, there is no need to have a union because the management treat all its team members, including its cleaning staff, justly and well.

This company’s corporate culture reflects the idealistic Church, as Jesus has envisioned in his words to the disciples to serve humbly and to care for the least among people in order to be the leaders of his Church (Mark 9:35, 37).

When Jesus foretold of his passion, death, and resurrection for the first time, Peter protested and was rebuked for this (Mark 8:31-33). And he taught self-denial and carrying a cross as necessary conditions of the discipleship (Mark 8:34-35). When he spoke of the prospect of his suffering, death, and resurrection, for the second time, the disciples did not understand what this meant but argued who would be the greatest among them because they were afraid to ask a question, because of their pride (Mark 9:30-34). In response, Jesus commanded them to serve people with humility and to care for the least among them, in order to be their leaders (Mark 9:35-37).

After all, Jesus exemplifies the humble servantship, and this is why Paul calls us to be like him:

Have among yourselves the same attitude that is also yours in Christ Jesus, Who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross. Because of this, God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesu every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:6-11).

Indeed, Jesus suffered and died in humility, and now we are called to be humble servant like him with our attention for the least among us to care.

 

* Beall, A.T. & Tracy,  J.L. (2020). The Evolution of Pride and Shame. In: Workman L, Reader W, Barkow J.H,, eds. The Cambridge Handbook of Evolutionary Perspectives on Human Behavior. Cambridge Handbooks in Psychology. Cambridge University Press;179-193.