TWENTY-SIXTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME B

[cappie]

In today’s gospel, we hear the story of Jesus’ disciples trying to stop a man who had been casting out demons in Jesus’ name. They seem to have become especially upset because the offender was not one of them. In the eyes of the disciples, he was not part of the inner circle, and he was acting differently from what they considered to be the norm.

As soon as Jesus heard about it, he turned the tables on his closest followers and rebuked their unbending exclusiveness. He told them not to stop the man, because whatever good is done in Jesus’ name would put him in a situation of not speaking evil of the Lord. And tellingly, Jesus concluded, “Anyone who is not against us is for us.” Jesus made it clear that he and his disciples were not a little clique, working in a corner of life, fenced off from others. His world view made him well aware that God’s actions are not limited to the forms with which his disciples were familiar.

Jesus’ words ring true as a rebuke today of our exclusiveness, our assumptions that God’s action among us is limited to forms with which we are most comfortable and most familiar.

Christians cannot fence themselves off from others who have different ways of following Jesus and of finding God. The one who is not against us is for us. The one who is not against Jesus is on the side of Christ.

 Intolerance of the other is certainly an attitude that Jesus rejected in today’s gospel reading. Possibly, he realized that the disciples considered the man casting out demons as a threat to their inner-circle status. He was an outsider, so they tried to stop him. Jesus rejected this by making it clear that only in a more narrow sense can one be an outsider.

Standing against this, Jesus’ words remind us that Christianity is not the preserve of a privileged few. He reminds us that no one seeking to do the Lord’s work is an outsider, to welcome all people who are willing to join the journey, following our Lord. To be including – not excluding. Jesus’ words rebuke us when we turn against others because they are different

There is another side to this, of course. Sometimes, conscience and practicality dictate that we separate ourselves from others, but the message here, at the very least, not to draw a line in the sand except as a last resort. Jesus helps us work against the subtle temptation to think that “for me to be right, anyone who disagrees with me must be wrong.”

Jesus seems to be telling the disciples and us to recognize that there are many who might work or think differently, but don’t jump to the conclusion that that makes them against you – or against me. He warns us against simplistic solutions to complex problems, to see that truth is always bigger than any one person, or any one groups grasp of it. Jesus cautions us against inflexibility of thought or deed. He helps us embrace tolerance of a variety of actions and viewpoints, to re-learn what is so easy to forget: that diversity is not only good; it is essential for the health of the Body of Christ.

Today’s gospel reinforces a belief that what we need in the church is less “either/or” and more “both/and.”

Where do we find commonality? Why not begin by looking to our earliest roots? Those who can declare that “Jesus is Lord” are not against us, and therefore are for us, and for Christ. Those who can follow the steps of Jesus, taking up their crosses and denying themselves for the sake of God and God’s children are not against us, and therefore are for us, and for Christ.

 "Being the church, being the people of God," Pope Francis concluded, "... means being God's leaven in this our humanity. It means proclaiming and bearing God's salvation in this our world, which is often lost and needful of having encouraging answers, answers that give hope, that give new energy along the journey. May the church be the place of God's mercy and love where everyone can feel themselves welcomed, loved, forgiven, and encouraged to live according to the good life of the Gospel. And in order to make others feel welcomed, loved, forgiven, and encouraged, the church must have open doors so that all might enter. And we must go out of those doors and proclaim the Gospel." Pope Francis: General Audience June 12, 2013