Anyone who is not against us is for us

 Twenty-Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time Year B - 26th September 2021

Gospel Mark 9: 38–43. 45. 47–49

John said to Jesus, ‘Master, we saw a man who is not one of us casting out devils in your name; and because he was not one of us we tried to stop him.’ But Jesus said, ‘You must not stop him: no one who works a miracle in my name is likely to speak evil of me. Anyone who is not against us is for us.

‘If anyone gives you a cup of water to drink just because you belong to Christ, then I tell you solemnly, they will most certainly not lose their reward.

‘But anyone who is an obstacle to bring down one of these little ones who have faith, would be better thrown into the sea with a great millstone around their neck. And if your hand should cause you to sin, cut it off; it is better for you to enter into life crippled, than to have two hands and go to hell, into the fire that cannot be put out. And if your foot should cause you to sin, cut it off; it is better to enter into life lame, than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. And if your eye should cause you to sin, tear it out; it is better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell where their worm does not die nor their fire go out.’

... just because you belong to Christ

Gospel Reflection from St Beuno's Outreach

I deliberately slow down, maybe attending to my breath, noticing the slow inhalation of life-giving oxygen into my body; and the slow exhalation of air. I attend to the present moment; disposing myself to God’s grace.

When ready, I turn to the Gospel and read Jesus’s teachings reflectively. Which one most draws me? I allow this teaching to find its home in me.

I may note Jesus’s attitude of generosity towards others who are not of his ‘tribe’... his warning against judgements and elitism; his blessings on simple kindness. When I consider my own inner attitudes and motivations, do I feel challenged or reassured by Jesus’s open-heartedness? I ponder...

Perhaps his third set of teachings invites me to see how I can take on the mind and attitudes of Christ to become like ‘the little ones’.

I ask for the freedom and grace to die to those parts of myself that do not lead to fullness of life ... for myself, my neighbour and all inhabitants of our planetary home.

I end my prayer expressing both sorrow and gratitude.

Click here to read or listen to a one-minute homily on this Sunday's readings!