Readings: Numbers 11:25-29; Psalm 19; James 5:1-6; Mark 9:38-43, 45, 47-48
Grace, mercy and peace to you my beloved in the Lord.
In the readings of today, God has a lot to teach us to help shape our lives and make us better people.
Today, I would like to bring out three messages (homilies) from the readings.
I. The danger of envy
II. The danger of scandal
III. The malice of sin.
MESSAGE 1: Beware of envy.
The disciples of Jesus tried to stop a man from casting out a devil, a man who didn’t belong to their association/union (Association of Jesus’ disciples AJD). Jesus corrected them, telling them to be open-minded, inclusive and to not try and stop anyone who was not against them.
The First Reading reports a similar event. Joshua was upset that Eldad and Medad, who were not with the elders selected for prophecy, also received the gift of prophecy, even though they were in their camps and not with the rest in the tent of meeting.
Today, the Lord is calling our attention to the danger of envy.
What aggravated the anger of the disciples was not just that the man was casting out demons; it was the fact that he was successful where they had just failed (read Mark 9:17-18). They felt threatened by his success and by the fact that people were now going to him. So, they tried to prevent him from continuing. The Greek word here is very vivid – it is ekōlyomen auton (ἐκωλύομεν αὐτὸν), meaning they tried to hinder his work, to pull him down.
Do we also sometimes feel upset when we see others doing well, receiving the blessings or honour we desire, excelling in things we cannot do?
Do we get jealous when others are praised or making good progress in the same thing we are doing?
Dear friends, we should avoid trying to pull anyone down, belittling, blackmailing or speaking ill of others simply because of jealousy. We are not called to be envious of others but to be grateful and content. We will have a sense of greater peace if we wage war against envy rather than against people.
MESSAGE 2: The danger of scandal.
Jesus warns us with strong language to not be an obstacle to anyone.
To sin is already serious, to lead someone else to fall into sin is worse. The Greek word is skandalon (σκάνδαλον in English- Scandal) which means trap or snare. It is used in the sense of a cause of offence or stumbling.
Here are examples of ways we need to be careful in order to not lead people to sin.
I. Counsel/advice
II. The examples we show to others.
III. Temptation/seduction by our words, behaviour and appearance.
IV. By provocation: The Second Reading gives a good example, warning the rich who provoke the poor. The Scripture warns parents not to provoke children to sin (Ephesians 6:4). Let us be careful of provoking others to sin.
V. Silence: Our silence can also cause others to stumble. Some people do what is wrong out of ignorance, so we need to correct them in love. Our silence can encourage others to sin or to continue to sin.
MESSAGE 3: The malice of sin.
Jesus ends this discourse by emphasising the horrible nature of sin and how we should avoid it. He tells us to do anything possible to avoid any and every occasion of sin. He says if our hands, foot or eye causes us to sin, we should cut them off or tear it out. Hand here points to what we do, foot points to where we go, eyes points to what we see or desire.
We are called to avoid any relationship, activity, place or image that can lead us to sin or distract us from being completely loyal to God.
Take note, Jesus is not supporting self-harm here or physical mutilation. Some people have taken this literally and done some harm to themselves. We have the example of a great theologian of the Church who castrated himself to deal with lustful desires.
This approach doesn’t deal with the root of sin. What Jesus is advocating is spiritual mortification not physical mutilation. He is talking of the surgery of the heart not the body.
Sin damages our relationship with God and ultimately causes an eternal separation from God. As such there is no sacrifice too much to avoid it (Sirach 21:2).
The Good News is that for the times we have been envious, for the times we have fallen into sin or led others to sin, the Lord still invites us to receive His mercy and complete pardon through the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Let us not take this for granted. Let us not delay, rationalise or justify ourselves. Confession and penance instead of eternal damnation and pain – what a deal!
We pray that the Holy Spirit will transform us and help us to overcome every tendency to envy. May He help us to live in such a way that we will not lead others to sin and we ourselves may understand the malice of sin and do everything possible to avoid it.
Sermon preached by Fr Emmanuel Baraka-Gukena Okami on September 29, 2024.