Last Sunday (25th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B), we reflected on how Jesus taught the virtue of humility against selfish ambition. This Sunday (26th Sunday), we see how selfish-ambition, which disables us to be humble, can become σκάνδαλον/skandalon - stumbling factor to fall us to sin, and our need to eliminate σκάνδαλον/skandalon. If we fail to cut out parts of our beings psychospiritually affected by σκάνδαλον/skandalon, our whole being would eventually become σκάνδαλον/skandalon to others. resulting in deadly consequences.
Consider σκάνδαλον/skandalon as psychospiritual "cancer". As cancer needs to be removed or destroyed before it would grow to metastasize for its fatal effects on us, σκάνδαλον/skandalon needs to be cut off and removed before it would turn our whole being into σκάνδαλον/skandalon to cause other to sin. It is also like "leaven of the hypocrites"(e.g, Mark 8:15).
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The Gospel Reading for the 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B, Mark 9:38-43, 45, 47-48, has twofold themes: being distracted by another minister due to jealousy (vv. 38-41) and internal stumbling blocks to sin (vv. 42-48).
In the first part, we see John being unhappy to see
someone else outside the community of Jesus performing exorcism. John told
Jesus that the disciples tried to stop this person from driving demons for not
following the way of Jesus’ community. To this, Jesus said:
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).
John must have been rather shocked to hear Jesus
said this. Perhaps, he thought that Jesus would “appreciate” him reporting
about an outsider to his group performing a mighty deed and trying to prevent
him.
So, why Jesus responded to John as to discount his
concern about an outsider?
Knowing the disciples’ tendency to fall to elitist
mentality and jealousy, Jesus intended to give a lesson against their’
propensity for selfish ambition in their discipleship.
Remember the Gospel Reading last Sunday (25th
Sunday) (Mark 9:30-37)? In this, the disciples were arguing on who among them
would be the greatest, being preoccupied with their own selfish interests
rather than showing their interest in Jesus for foretelling of his death and
resurrection for the second time. So, Jesus taught them on humility alluding to
servant leadership. Jesus also taught them on their need to care for those who
are often considered as insignificant, like children, because humility enables
them to see more clearly those who are often belittled and their needs for
care. And, as a matter of fact, the Second Reading last Sunday (25th
Sunday)(James 3:16-4:3) teaches against our tendency to pursue selfish ambition
and its side effect, jealousy and reminds of a remedy against it: seeking
wisdom from God.
John and the rest of the disciples tried to stop
this person, who performed mighty deeds, though not being affiliated with Jesus
and his community, because of jealousy. They were jealous of this person
because when they tried to perform a mighty deeds of healing, they were unable
(Mark 9:18).
John’s report on another person, who was not Jesus’
disciple and did not associate himself with him, performing exorcism, and the
disciples’ attempt to stop him from performing is a reflection of their
jealousy due to their selfish ambition.
Jesus response to John (Mark 9:39-41) does not
necessarily say that people do not need to belong to the community of Jesus to
perform mighty deeds in his name. It is absolutely important that those who
perform are anointed and therefore have authority. There is always a danger for
persons who perform such deeds independently, especially those who refuse to
associate themselves with Jesus and his community. Such people can be
heretical. However, in the Gospel narrative context, especially in connection
to the Gospel Reading for last Sunday (25th Sunday)(Mark 9:30-37),
the issue is rather the disciples’ jealousy, which reflect their selfish
ambition.
It is up to Jesus to decide what to do with those
who perform mighty deeds as Jesus does, if they are not associated with him. Not
a concern for his disciples.
The first part of today’s Gospel (Mark 9:38-41)
corresponds to the First Reading (Numbers 11:25-29), as it addresses how Moses
admonished Joshua’s jealousy toward Eldad and Medad for having been anointed by
God’s Spirit and prophesizing even though they had not gone to the tent of
meeting.
In fact, Jesus’ response to John (Mark 9:39-41) can
be juxtaposed to what Gamaliel said at the Sanhedrin in regard to what to do
with the followers of Jesus’ way performing mighty deeds in the early apostolic
age:
So
now I tell you, have nothing to do with these men, and let them go. For if this
endeavor or this activity is of human origin, it will destroy itself. But if it
comes from God, you will not be able to destroy them; you may even find
yourselves fighting against God (Acts 5:38-39).
Selfish ambition and its side effect, jealousy,
associated with disturbance of peace and foul practice (James 3:16) are what Jesus
really does not want his disciples – his followers, us, to harbor within.
In the second part of today’s Gospel Reading (Mark
9:42-48), we see how Jesus addresses the disciples’ disposition for selfish ambition
and its consequence, jealousy, and other psychospiritual problems within them
to cause them to sin.
First (Mark 9:42), Jesus teaches harshly against a
person, who causes another person to sin with a hyperbolic expression, for
saying that it is better to have such a problematic person thrown into the sea
with a great millstone put around his neck. The point Jesus was making here is
that it is better to get rid of what causes to sin.
Then Jesus teaches that it is better to cut off
whatever the parts of our being causes us to sin, rather than letting such
parts affect our entire being to sin, whether it is hand, foot, or eyes (Mark
9:43-48).
Actually, the biblical Greek word for “causes to sin”(Mark
9:42, 43, 45, 47) is σκανδαλίσῃ
/skandalise,
which literally means (might) cause to stumble (cf. ἁμαρτάνω /hamartano – to miss the mark, to sin). NRSV edition Bible
translates this more literally, saying, “causes to stumble”, while NBRE edition
translates as “causes to sin”.
Thus, Jesus teaches against being a stumbling factor
both to others and to ourselves.
And, psychospiritually, a major such a factor that
causes to stumble is jealousy resulting from selfish ambition.
Jesus was keenly aware of a danger for his disciples
to harbor selfish ambition within themselves as it is a seed for jealousy, a
leading factor for stumbling to sin.
The Second Reading today (James 5:1-6) describes
really worse consequences of letting what causes us to stumble to sin go on.
And it teaches that those who live a life in relentlessly pursuing their
materialistic selfish ambition – even at the expenses of others – would be put
in misery. This misery may be comparable to being thrown into the sea with a
great millstone around the neck (Mark 9:42) or thrown into the fire of Gehenna
(Mark 9:43,45, 47).
So, Jesus is calling us to get rid of whatever causes us to stumble to sin from within, before it would turn our whole beings to cause others to stumble to sin. Psychospiritually, however insignificant we may think, our selfish ambition, is like a small group of cancer cells. Unless it is removed or destroyed before it would metastasize, cancer would cost our life. Likewise, whatever causes us to stumble to sin must be cut off and removed from us before it would turn our whole being to cause others to stumble to sin. Remember, it was Satan himself who caused Eve to cause her husband, Adam, to stumble to sin against God (Genesis 3:1-7). For this, Even, together with her husband, Adam, were thrown out of Eden (Genesis 3:23-24).
The Father sent Jesus, His only begotten Son,
incarnating the Theos-Logos (the Word
that is God)(John 1:1, 14), through the Holy Spirit on Mary the Blessed Virgin
(Matthew 1:20; Luke 1:35), out of His love for us (John 3:16) to break the
cycle of becoming stumbling factors to one another to sin, as what causes us to
stumble to sin, is an obstacle to salvation.
So, let God’s wisdom from above (James 3:16) – let God’s
precepts (Psalm 19:9a) - inoculate ourselves
against whatever causes us to stumble to sin (Mark 9:42, 43, 45, 47).
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