Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Today's Mass Readings

Just prior to the start of Jesus’ public ministry, he was tempted by Satan in the desert. The devil presented Him with the three primary temptations that plague mankind: power, pleasure, and prestige. Now we are coming to the culmination of the Lord’s public ministry in the Passion. In each Passion prediction, Christ attempts to root out the temptations to power, pleasure, and prestige in the Apostles as He prepares them for what true discipleship is.

Thus, two Sundays ago he tackled pleasure, instructing the Twelve to pick up their crosses – a concrete, burdensome reality that must be embraced instead of seeking the shortcut to glory. Last Sunday, Jesus cut through their pretentions to prestige. Instead of pursuing honor and making others seek them out, they should go to the lowly, to serve a child instead of the influential adult. Finally, this Sunday in the third prediction of the Passion, Jesus uses an incident to correct His disciples’ temptation to power.

The apostle John is upset because someone is using Jesus’ name to drive out demons – and it works! Rather than giving thanks for the power of God found in Christ Jesus setting people free, John is angry. Again, that is human temptation. After all, John has paid his dues; he has picked up his cross to follow Jesus, to lower himself when the power of being an apostle should be a cushy gig. Christ will say that what the man does is a good thing and in fact, benefits their mission. Jesus goes even further to say that John is scandalized by the wrong thing. The apostle should be scandalized when the Lord and His gospel are not contagious but instead, sin is passed to the next generation.

Maybe this seems a little hypocritical for a Catholic priest to write the above. True, I would not invite my mom to confect the Eucharist or tell you that one Christian denomination is just as good as another. In context, I am consistent for as St. Paul explains there are different roles in the Body of Christ (e.g., apostles, prophets, teachers, etc. cf. 1 Cor. 12:28) and that the exalted eye cannot say to the humble hand that it does not need it (cf. 1 Cor. 12:21). No Christian is to leave the gospel message to the professionals – each baptized person is an evangelist. I should not be dismayed if a layperson is better at explaining the faith simply; a cradle Catholic should not be jealous of the zeal of a recent convert. If the Father wills all to come to salvation, we should rejoice that it is working and not seek to control how it happens. In fact, Paul also suggests that God’s power is at work in me despite myself, because it will not be my talents or competence that saved the world, but the power of Christ died and Risen.

Reflection by Fr. Pachomius Meade, OSB