Being Increasingly With Jesus, 7th Wednesday (I), February 27, 2019

Fr. Roger J. Landry
Visitation Mission of the Sisters of Life, Manhattan
Wednesday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time, Year I
February 27, 2019
Sir 4:11-19, Ps 119, Mk 9:38-40

To listen to an audio recording of today’s homily, please click below: 

The following points were attempted in the homily: 

• Today’s words of Jesus at the end of the Gospel, “Whoever is not against us is for us,” are often understood to be in superficial contradiction to what Jesus said when he was being challenged by those who accused him of casting out demons by the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons. Jesus, after reminding them that divided kingdoms can’t stand, said, “Whoever is not with me is against me; whoever doesn’t gather with me, scatters” (Mt 12:30). The statements are not contradictory, but we do need to harmonize them, and when we do, we learn two important truths. First, it is possible from someone to be gathering “with Jesus” while not necessarily being visibly “with us.” That’s why we should never presume that someone who is not with us is necessarily not with Jesus. This is a key point in terms of ecumenical and interreligious work for the kingdom and the common good. But second and more profoundly, a harmonization helps us to see that there are parts of us that are with the Lord and parts of us that are not with Him. Parts of us gather with him and parts of us scatter. St. Augustine says that because there can be people partially with and partially against the Lord, the Lord affirms that we should not reject that which in a person is with the Lord but that we should reject that which in a person is against the Lord. He applies the principle to the heretics of his own day, by saying that the Catholic Church does not condemn the common sacraments among the heretics for in this they are with the Church and not against her; but she does condemn and forbid division and separation, because in this, they are not with the Church and consequently scatter. St. John Chrysostom makes essentially the same point, that those who are not against the Lord are at least partially on his side, like different nations fighting a similar adversary, as the man in the Gospel was casting out God’s enemy, the devil, in Jesus’ name. The essential take away is that it’s God’s will that we seek to bring all parts of us into alignment with God and to bring everyone into a communion willed by God.
• In this challenge of communion, the Lord is, I think, asking us to imitate his sense of inclusiveness against the tendency sometimes to start with exclusion. He came to seek and save what was lost, to reunite the lost sheep of the house of Israel, to go out after the one and bring him back to the 99, ultimately to reconcile all things in himself. There’s a temptation among many religious people to focus so much on what distinguishes us from others that we lose what unites us, and as we and others focus on those differences, we pull ourselves and push others away. We can begin with what we criticize rather than what we admire. We can fault others for what they don’t get right rather than commence with what they do. We see this tendency in the Gospel with many of the Pharisees, literally the “separated ones.” They were constantly distinguishing themselves from others that they really grew no longer to focus on uniting them. They began to pray like the Pharisee in Jesus’ parable, giving thanks that they’re not like others who are guilty of various types of notorious sins. Jesus wants us to recognize in others those parts that are united with him and not to stop them, like St. John the Beloved was trying to stop people from casting out devils, as if Jesus’ will would have been that they should suffer diabolical possession or obsession another day. One of the ways we can do that is by remembering St. Thomas Aquinas’ principle that everyone acts toward some aspect or appearance of good. Even for those who act ultimately toward bad ends, they’re doing so for some at least appearance of good, however disordered within the context of greater goods. Someone who steals is doing it for the good of possessing what is stolen. Someone who lies is doing it for the good of earning someone’s approval or respect. Someone who engages in sexual sin is doing it for the good of being desired and loved. This doesn’t make bad actions good, but the good being sought is a starting point to bring people from that real or apparent lesser good to the greatest Good of all.
• We can see this in today’s first reading when the inspired Ben Sira focuses on wisdom, saying that those who seek wisdom will be embraced by the Lord, those who hold her fast will inherit glory, those who serve her serve the Holy One and those who love her will be loved by the Lord. We can personify wisdom in God, who became in the womb of Mary, the Seat of Wisdom, wisdom incarnate, but we don’t have to. Wisdom is the capacity to see things as they really are, to see things from God’s perspective. Those who seek wisdom are ultimately seeking its source, God, and how can God not bestow blessings on those who seek him, even if the one is seeking him in circuitous ways?
• The great opportunity we have for growing in wisdom and bringing our entire life into conformity with God happens at Mass, as we seek to enter into holy Communion with him, something that is not meant to be partial but total, and in him with each other. He wills that nothing in us will be against him but totally with him and with his Church. That’s why we begin every Mass calling to mind those parts of our life that aren’t in total agreement with God’s will and ask him for the grace to forgive us and to help us precisely achieve that total communion.

The readings for today’s Mass were: