Sunday Gospel Reflection
If your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out

Introduction:

Scandal

What scandals have you heard about in the past two months? How did they affect you?

Scandals, like gossip, create news, headlines, and the patter of talk shows. Politicians and entertainers cause the public concern with their dress, their lifestyle, or their secrets. Indeed, scandal not only drives public opinion. It can increase profits for media and visibility for publicity-hungry.

When it comes to the Church, scandal multiplies problems. Not only does the community lose faith, the community loses face with potential converts. Church scandal also gives those who oppose the faith reason for persecution. But, what happens when the scandal within the Church is caused by the good of non-Christians?

In Mark's gospel, Jesus addressed both issues. Scandals caused by good. Scandals caused by evil.

First Reading
- Numbers 11:25-29

25 Then the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and took some of the spirit that was upon him and put it upon the seventy elders; and when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied. But  they did so no more.
26 Now two men remained in the camp, one named Eldad, and the other named Medad, and the spirit rested upon them; they were among those registered, but they had not gone out to the tent, and so they prophesied in the camp.
27 And a young man ran and told Moses, "Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp."
28 And Joshua the son of Nun, the  minister of Moses, one of his chosen men, said, "My lord Moses, forbid them."
29 But Moses said to him, "Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the LORD's people were prophets, that the LORD would put his spirit upon them!"

Second Reading
James 5:1-6

1 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you.
2 Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten.
3 Your gold and silver have rusted, and their rust will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure for the last days.
4 Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.
5 You have lived on the earth in luxury and in pleasure; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter.
6 You have condemned, you have killed the righteous man; he does not resist you

Gospel Reading
Mark 9:39--48

39 But Jesus said, "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.
40 For he that is not against us is for us.
41 For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ, will by no means lose his reward.
42 "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung round his neck and he were thrown into the sea.
43 And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire.
45 And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell.
47 And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell,
48 where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.

Bible Study/Meditation

We see the attitude reflected in both this week's First Reading and the Gospel Reading. We wonder how Christendom could have missed and ignored for so long Jesus' desire for unity and love among his followers, it is beyond our comprehension. That is, it is beyond our comprehension until we reflect on our own feelings of rivalry, competition and party spirit toward other Christian groups, parishes, and denominations. In our human understanding, to be for something, necessarily means to be against some other thing. This should not be so. In Jesus' heart and mind, as we see in the Gospel Reading, to be for something means to be for it in whatever various forms it appears. Consequently, Jesus rejects his disciples call for partisanship, and does not forbid others who willingly bear his name, from doing so just because they were not part of his specific band of disciples. Jesus' concern is not partisanship but the spread of the Good News to a corrupt and hopeless world.

Today the world is increasing in moral decay and hopelessness. To sit around arguing about who is the greatest, and expending our energies to put down those who do not totally agree with us in every detail, while ignoring their unity with us on Jesus' divinity, salvation, and mission, is to lose sight of both reality and the objective. Today more than ever we must unite to know, honor, and glorify the Savior, to bring his saving truth to a lost world. "In the eyes of the world, cooperation among Christians becomes a form of common Christian witness and a means of evangelization which benefits all involved," (Pope John Paul II in Ut Unum Sint.)
   
Only those who choose to remain out of the evangelization battle for the world can enjoy the luxury of expending their energies on intra-Christian squabbling. Those who choose to stand with John Paul II in the front line of the battle will agree with him that our energies must be directed outward, toward taking the Good News to a dark and hopeless world. With Jesus, they conclude, "he that is not against us is for us."

Reflections:

· Please re-read the phrase(s)/sentence(s) that move(s)/touche(s) you and what inner message of the heart is the Spirit whispering to you?

. Scandal is an attitude or behavior which leads another to do evil." (CCC 2284) The sin of scandal depends upon the reasons of those who cause the scandal or the weakness of the scandalized. Those who have power to influence others (people in media, teachers, law makers, etc.) have a particular responsibility to avoid causing scandal. The content of scandal can be institutional (i.e., a law or exercise of power). It can also be a matter of fad or opinion.
  ----- In your daily life,  have you given bad example to others and thus cause them step away from God?" or have you given good examples to others and thus pull them toward God?

. Jesus gave us guidelines to address scandal. Encourage the faith of those outside the community. Know yourself and your weaknesses that can cause scandal. And, do not aspire to offices where you can cause scandal. Jesus wanted an increase in faith, not scandal. We should, too. When believers cause scandal, it is a challenge away from faith. But, when God causes scandal, it is a challenge to faith. God's will (his "scandal") requires openness of mind and heart.

   ----Have you spent time and energy seeking God's will, hearing his voice?

. Do you rejoice  that others do good deeds? Do you rejoice when others are saying you are doing good deeds?

Prayer

Lord, fill me with your Holy Spirit that I may radiate the joy of the gospel to others.   May your light and truth shine through me that others may find new life and freedom from sin and the corruption of evil