25th Sunday Ordinary Time
Jesus replied, ‘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.’
Mk 9:38-43, 45, 47-48
Many years ago after a super typhoon, for weeks the provinces were cut off
from the Capital due to floods. Food was getting scarce and a lot of people
were hungry. Then one morning someone broke the glass window of a supermarket
and soon many poor people rushed inside to get food. Can one blame this
starving crowd for stealing food in such dire situation? Would the owner
complain if the hungry were fed?
Whatever good there is, it must be shared for the benefit of all especially
those in need.
During this pandemic good people have been sharing food to those without. In
our parish support continues to pour to our 555 project. And yet in some parts
of the country bad people are still extorting money from the population that is
already at risk.
This is what St. James warned us about in the second reading when he spoke
of the rich depriving workers of just wages and hoarding goods that waste away
keeping them from those in need. He advised against holding surplus that could
otherwise be shared. James 5:1-6.
It is not only material goods but even spiritual ones could be shared. In
today’s gospel Jesus tells His apostles that He needs all the people He could
get for His mission. He says; “Do not stop anyone who is doing good even if he
is not one of us.” Moses had said the same thing to Joshua who complained that
persons outside their camp were caught prophesying. Numbers 11:25-29.
As everyone has to share the goods of the world, so everyone has to share likewise
the mission of the world. Sharing is both corporal and spiritual.
A good protestant leader once asked the pope if he could become a catholic.
To his surprise the pope refused saying “You are already doing a lot of good as
a leader in your community. Do you think you could still continue the good you
are doing now if you’d become catholic?”
Would that all people of all race, of various beliefs and differing creed
collaborate for the benefit of the world. This is the wish of Pope Francis in
writing his third encyclical “Fratelli Tutti”. After meeting the various
religious heads last 3 October 2020, he called on all people of the world to
collaborate in solving the ills that beset mankind. He spoke not only of Covid 19
but also of wars, immigration, pollution, poverty. The world needs to get its
acts together because all are siblings sharing a common home.
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