01/10/2006 - XXVI SUNDAY in ORDINARY TIME - Year B
First Reading Numbers 11:25-29 Psalm 18/19
Second Reading James 5:1-6 Gospel Mark 9:38-43; 45; 47-48
If someone steals, and wants to reconcile with God and with man, he must, obviously,
make restitution. The Gospel offers us the example of Zacchaeus, who, enriched
by the joy of having encountered Jesus, makes restitution four times over to
those from whom he had previously stolen. Not only that, Zacchaeus having regained
peace in his heart, does not stop at restitution, but distributes half of his
possessions to the poor. See, the fruit of the presence of Jesus in our home
and in our heart: He frees us from yearning for riches, saves from the deception
that make us believe that joy comes from having money and, instead, helps us
to nurture love, the only true wealth of our life! He who steals, or who lives
with the yearning to become wealthy, does not, yet, have Jesus within him. If
someone deems himself to be a believer, but continues to dream of riches, he
is deceiving himself: his faith is futile, it is sick and so weak that any little
temptation is enough to ignore it altogether. "thieves must give up stealing;
rather, let them labour and work honestly with their own hands, so as to have
something to share with the needy." (Eph. 4:28). The Christian, when he
works, knows that, not only, should he work for himself, but for the poor, as
well, and for those who have been defrauded so that we can enjoy many of their
goods at a low price. From youth, then, when choosing his own profession, a
Christian should be encouraged to be concerned, not only for his own selfish
benefit, but, even more, to choose a career which can benefit many! All of us,
who believe in Jesus Christ, have, as example, the first Church of Jerusalem,
whose members deposited all their belongings at feet of the Apostles so that
there might be equality in the community. Among us, in the Church, there are
always people that we can look up to, with pride and with the desire to imitate:
they are those who, willingly become poor, as did St. Francis, for example,
as well as a multitude of other brothers and sisters, who enrich the community
with the Holy Spirit, by living an exemplary sobriety for the love of the Lord,
Jesus!
"Would that all the Lord's people were prophets!" So answers Moses
to the young man who was concerned that two men were "prophesying";
that is, they were proclaiming the Word of God, even though they had not been
given the official task. They were doing it, with courage and love, to that
God who always proposes conversion and enlightenment; that is, they did it with
the Spirit of God!
This is similar to the teaching of Jesus to His disciple John, who had prevented
someone to pronounce His name to remove demons, simply because he was not from
the group of the disciples. May everyone pronounce the name of Jesus! The "miracles"
would multiply and the kingdom of God would be powerfully manifested! Anyone
who speaks well of Jesus does divine works, and collaborates in the love of
the Father! So, too, anyone who loves the disciples of Jesus and helps them,
accomplishes the love of the Father, and will be adequately rewarded! Anyone
who pronounces the name of Jesus, with love, is a true prophet; he is someone
who spreads the love of God throughout the world! And a communion with Jesus
and knowledge of Him will grow within himself, as well! Instead - and here Jesus
will not be so sweet - beware, anyone who causes scandal or allows himself to
be scandalized! Scandal is an obstacle to the path of faith in Him.
It is better to die than to keep anyone from getting close to Jesus! Preventing
or getting in the way of anyone's salvation is the gravest of sins! We, ourselves,
must be equally careful: our hand, our foot, our ear may keep us from remaining
with Jesus. If our occupations, the places or locations we frequent, or the
things we are curious to see distract us from listening and obeying Jesus, we
must avoid them, at all cost. Nothing is more precious than Him! Nothing can
substitue the Lord in our life. It is better to be considered foolish, retarded,
ignorant, antiquated, or naïve, than to be far away from Him! It is better
to be poor, than to remove the richness of our faith from our heart!
Riches, St. James tells us, drags us to a multitude of iniquities. It is enough
to look around us to see that we, and our Church, are surrounded by the rich:
do we want to be among them? Let us reject the longing for riches, for they
always deceive us! The treasure most desired must always be the Lord! It is
then, that our life and our behaviour will become prophesy, a joyful message
of communion and hope, an announcement of the love of the Father for all the
small and the poor.
How beautiful it is to know that, at any moment, our life can be a calling and
a point of reference to the love of the Father, a tiny light which gives us
a glimpse of Jesus! Being prophets, or testimonies, will be the principle criteria
in the choices we make, and of our actions: should I do this or that? I will
do, mostly, what will proclaim the mercy of the Father, what will mirror, above
all, the teachings of Jesus, what will "tell" everyone of the strong
and knowledgeable love of God!