The Freedom of God

09-26-2021Weekly Reflection© J. S. Paluch Company

Today's readings remind us that God is free: God acts as God wills regardless of what human beings might expect. In the reading from Numbers, God's spirit enters two men, Eldad and Medad, even though they had not been with the others who had received the spirit of God. And in Mark’s Gospel, Jesus endorses an unknown exorcist, who did God's work in the name of Jesus but was not officially sanctioned by the disciples. That God's spirit is shared widely does not threaten Moses or Jesus. They celebrate the notion that God’s spirit blows where it wills.

Moses was shaping the people of Israel, and Jesus similarly was shaping the community of disciples, to encounter a radically free God who doesn’t fit their preconceptions. This encounter, when received with humility, widens their vision and deepens their faith. God continues to shape the Church similarly today, to open us up to God's freedom.

Look Within

A wrestling match of sorts takes place in this section of Mark's Gospel. Jesus tries might- ily to describe what it will mean to be his followers, and the disciples try mightily to avoid the subject. They point to an outsider, and the dangers he poses. Jesus turns the tables and asks his disciples to look within themselves: how are they a danger to Jesus and his work? Jesus uses graphic language, invoking self-amputation, to underscore his point.

Sometimes our most difficult obstacles lie deep within. Like our hands and feet, some attitudes and habits are deeply a part of us, and their removal would be traumatic for us. Yet we know that some beliefs (such as idolatries based on race, wealth, or gender) or behaviors (such as addictions) seriously harm ourselves and many others. We need a prayerful, non-neurotic watchfulness about our inner life. When necessary, we need a fierce resistance to anything that places us or others in danger.

Unity in Christ

Jesus, in today’s Gospel from Mark, says “whoever is not against us is for us.” Mark was speaking to his own Christian community. From its beginnings, there were ten- sions in the Church about who speaks for Jesus. Jesus himself always called for unity of heart and a diversity of expression as a sign of the truth of the Gospel. It is no secret that in Christian history and continuing today, divisions have seriously damaged the message and cause of Christ.

In our own time and place, cultural and political divisions have reduced our ability to solve problems and to live together in a just and peaceful society. Perhaps this is a time for Christians to step up, to remember that our unity in Christ is far deeper than the dif- ferences that we perceive. We are called to reach out and listen to each other, to hon- or each other as members of the Body of Christ. Christians can lead the way, and show everyone watching how it's done.