VIGÉSIMO SEXTO DOMINGO DEL TIEMPO ORDINARIO B 2024

Queridos hermanos y hermanas, voy a comenzar esta reflexión con algunas preguntas.:

¿Algún día has sentido celos de alguien en tu vida?

¿Crees que la salvación que Dios nos ofrece es sólo para los católicos?

¿Crees que el Espíritu Santo es sólo para los creyentes?

¿Has hecho alguna vez algo malo?

¿Has visto alguna vez algo que no deberías haber visto?

¿Crees que siempre debemos tomar la Sagrada Escritura al pie de la letra?

Queridos hermanos y hermanas, tanto la lectura del Libro de los Números como la del Evangelio de Marcos dejan claro que Dios y su Misericordia son para todos nosotros los seres humanos, independientemente de nuestras circunstancias. La oferta de Salvación no es sólo para los «elegidos», sino para todas las personas que habitamos en este mundo. La oferta está abierta a todos pero es obvio que no todos quieren aceptarla. Moisés y Jesús quieren que el Espíritu Santo no sea sólo para los que están cerca de ellos, sino también para los que están lejos y pertenecen al pueblo de Dios.

Es muy diciente la respuesta que le dio Moisés a Josué cuando éste le pidió que impidiera que Eldad y Medad profetizaran en nombre del Dios porque no estuvieron presentes en el momento cuando el Señor repartió parte del espíritu de Moisés a los setenta ancianos que se habían congregado con él : «¿Crees que voy a ponerme celoso? ¡Ojalá que todo el pueblo de Dios fuera profeta y descendiera sobre todos ellos el espíritu del Señor».

Del mismo modo, Jesús respondió a sus discípulos cuando le informaron que habían intentando detener a alguien que expulsaba demonios en nombre de él, pero no pertenecía a su grupo: «No se lo prohíban, porque no hay ninguno que haga milagros en mi nombre, que luego sea capaz de hablar mal de mí».

El Apóstol Santiago se queja hoy de los ricos que han adquirido grandes riquezas cometiendo injusticias con sus trabajadores. Se refiere a eso ricos que sólo se preocupan por tener una vida llena de lujos y no por pagar buenos salarios a sus empleados. Les pregunto ¿Creen ustedes, que este tipo de situaciones se sigue dando en nuestra realidad? ¿Creen que en este país se paga bien a todos los trabajadores, especialmente a los que no tienen documentos legales?

Santiago les dice: «Sus riquezas se han corrompido, la polilla se ha comido sus vestidos, enmohecidos están su oro y su plata y ese moho será una prueba contra ustedes». Santiago invita a los ricos a recordar que un día serán juzgados por Dios según cómo se hayan comportado en este mundo. Por su parte Jesús nos aconseja siempre que Él debe ser nuestro mayor tesoro y que nuestro verdadero tesoro debe estar guardado en el cielo y no aquí en la tierra.

Hay tres ideas principales en este Evangelio:

En primer lugar, Jesús recuerda a sus discípulos que su Nombre y su amor van más allá de ellos.

En segundo lugar, que todo aquel que comparta algo de sus bienes con los que pertenecen a Cristo recibirá una recompensa grande.

Tercero, Jesús nos aconseja vigilar nuestras vidas y saber «cortar a tiempo” todo lo que pueda alejarnos del Reino de Dios.

Hermanos y hermanas, ¿qué creen que nos pasaría si tomáramos al pie de la letra la última parte del Evangelio de hoy? ¿Creen ustedes que conservaríamos nuestros ojos, pies y manos? Quizá muchos volverían a casa después de misa con una sola mano, o un solo ojo, o un solo pie; es por eso mis queridos hermanos que la Biblia necesita ser entendida para evitar malos entendidos y desgracias cuando

no captamos bien su mensaje o nos dejamos llevar por lo literal. Es por eso que siempre debemos invocar al Espíritu Santo para que nos guíe y poder entender el verdadero significado de la palabra y aplicarla a nuestro diario vivir.

Hoy Jesús nos dice que hay personas, comportamientos, objetos, hábitos, sentimientos, inclinaciones y adicciones que pueden destruir nuestra vida si no son «cortados» o extirpados en el momento oportuno. Imaginemos lo que le ocurrirá a una persona poseída por la ira, los celos o el deseo irrefrenable de dinero o drogas si no corta a tiempo esas tendencias. ¿Qué pasaría si tenemos una mala influencia en nuestras vidas y no la «cortamos» y recuperamos nuestro autocontrol a tiempo? Pidámosle a Jesús que nos abra la mente y al Espíritu Santo que nos ayude a tomar decisiones que cambien nuestra conducta y nuestra vida. Amén.

Rev. Luis Segura M.S.C.—Pastor

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TWENTY-SIXTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME B 2024

Dear brothers and sisters, I am going to begin this reflection with some questions:

Have you ever felt jealous of someone in your life?

Do you think that the salvation that God offers us is only for Catholics?

Do you think that the Holy Spirit is only for believers? 

Have you ever done something wrong?

Have you ever seen something that you shouldn't have seen?

Do you think that we should always take the Holy Scripture literally?

Dear brothers and sisters, both the reading of the Book of Numbers and the Gospel of Mark make it clear that God and his Mercy are for all of us human beings, regardless of our circumstances. The offer of Salvation is not only for the "chosen" but for all the people who inhabit this world. The offer is open to all but it is obvious that not everyone wants to accept it. Moses and Jesus want the Holy Spirit not only to be for those who are near them, but also for those who are far away and belong to the people of God.

The answer that Moses gave to Joshua when the latter asked him to prevent Eldad and Medad from prophesying in the name of God because they were not present at the moment when the Lord distributed part of the spirit of Moses to the seventy elders who had gathered with him is very telling: “Do you think that I will be jealous? I wish that all the people of God were prophets and that the spirit of the Lord would come upon all of them.”

Likewise, Jesus answered his disciples when they informed him that they had tried to stop someone who was casting out demons in his name, but who did not belong to their group: “Do not forbid him, because there is no one who performs miracles in my name who will then be able to speak evil of me.” The

Apostle James complains today about the rich who have acquired great wealth by committing injustices with their workers. He is referring to those rich people who only care about having a life full of luxury and not about paying good salaries to their employees. I ask you, do you believe that this type of situation still occurs in our reality? Do you believe that in this country all workers are paid well, especially those who do not have legal documents?

James tells them: "Your riches have been corrupted, moths have eaten away your clothes, your gold and silver have become rusty, and this rust will be a test against you." James invites the rich to remember that one day they will be judged by God according to how they have behaved in this world. For his part, Jesus always advises us that He must be our greatest treasure and that our true treasure must be kept in heaven and not here on earth.

There are three main ideas in this Gospel:

First, Jesus reminds his disciples that his Name and his love go beyond them.

Second, that everyone who shares some of his possessions with those who belong to Christ will receive a great reward.

Third, Jesus advises us to watch our lives and to know how to “cut off in time” everything that could distance us from the Kingdom of God. Brothers and sisters, what do you think would happen to us if we took the last part of today’s Gospel literally? Do you think we would keep our eyes, feet and hands? Perhaps many would return home after Mass with only one hand, or one eye, or one foot; that is why, my dear brothers, the Bible needs to be understood to avoid misunderstandings and misfortunes when we do not understand its message well or we let ourselves be carried away by the literal. That is why we must always invoke the Holy Spirit to guide us and to be able to understand the true meaning of the word and apply it to our daily lives.

Today Jesus tells us that there are people, behaviors, objects, habits, feelings, inclinations and addictions that can destroy our lives if they are not “cut off” or removed at the right time. Let us imagine what will happen to a person possessed by anger, jealousy, or the uncontrollable desire for money or drugs if he does not cut off these tendencies in time. What would happen if we have a bad influence in our lives and we do not “cut it off” and regain our self-control in time? Let us ask Jesus to open our minds and the Holy Spirit to help us make decisions that will change our behavior and our lives. Amen.

Rev. Luis Segura M.S.C.—Pastor

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To Belong to Jesus…

This Sunday’s Gospel presents us with one of those characteristics that are very instructive about Jesus’ life with his disciples. They had seen a man — who did not belong to the group of Jesus’ followers — casting out demons in Jesus’ name, and thus they wanted to forbid him to do so. With the zealous enthusiasm typical of young people, John refers the matter to the Teacher, seeking his support. However, quite to the contrary, Jesus replies: “Do not forbid him; for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon after to speak evil of me. For he that is not against us is for us” (vv. 39-40).

John and the other disciples display a ‘closed’ attitude when faced with a circumstance that does not fit with their program, in this case the action, albeit good, of a person ‘outside’ the circle of followers. Jesus on the other hand, appears very free, fully open to the freedom of the Spirit of God, whose actions are not limited by any confines nor boundaries. Jesus wants to educate his disciples — and us today — on this inner freedom.

It is good for us to reflect on this episode and to perform a small examination of conscience. The disciples’ attitude is very human, very common, and we can observe this in Christian communities throughout history, probably in ourselves as well. In good faith, indeed with zeal, one would like to protect the authenticity of a certain experience, safeguarding the founder or leader from false impersonators. But at the same time, there is a sort of fear of ‘competition’ — and this is bad: the fear of competition —, that someone may steal new followers, and we are thus unable to appreciate the good that others do: it is not good because he is ‘not one of us’, they say. It is a form of self-preferentiality. Actually, there is the root of proselytism here. And the Church — Pope Benedict used to say — does not grow through proselytism; it grows by attraction, that is, it grows by bearing witness to others with the strength of the Holy Spirit. God’s great freedom in giving himself to us represents a challenge and an exhortation to modify our behaviors and our relationships. It is the invitation which Jesus addresses to us today. He calls us not to think according to the categories of ‘friend/enemy’, ‘us/them’, ‘those who are in/ those who are out’, ‘mine/yours’, but rather to go beyond, to open our heart in order to be able to recognize God’s presence and action, even in unusual and unpredictable environments that are not part of our circle. It is a matter of being more attentive to the authenticity of the good, the beautiful and the true that is done, rather than to the name and the origin of the one who does it. And — as the remaining part of the Gospel suggests to us today — instead of judging others, we must examine ourselves and ‘sever’, without compromise, all that can scandalize those persons who are weakest in faith.

May the Virgin Mary, an example of docile openness to God’s surprises, help us to recognize the signs of the Lord’s presence in our midst, so that we may find him everywhere he manifests himself, even in the most unthinkable and unusual situations. May she teach us to love our community without jealousy or closure, always open to the vast horizon of the action of the Holy Spirit. [Synthesized from Pope Francis, Angelus, 30 IX 2018]

Rev. Jos Rajesh Peter M.S.C.