26th Sunday of Ordinary Time, B September 29, 2024
Fr. Alexander Albert St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville
Okay, Jesus, which is it? You seem to be talking out of both sides of your mouth. On one side you say something like “whoever is not against us is for us.” That’s a pretty low bar. That seems pretty easy. All I have to do is not actively oppose you and I’m in? Just give a cup of water to your disciples? Can do! On the other side, however, you threaten hellfire to people who aren’t willing to cut their own hands off! How many people are that tough, really? So which is it?
You can guess what I’ll say. It’s both. How? We are creatures of paradox. That goes down to our very nature. As creatures of body and soul, we exist in a unique tension that does not exist for the angels, who are pure spirit, or for the animals, who belong only to the physical world. More importantly, we also exist in the tension of being fundamentally good – created by God – while also being deeply corrupted by Original Sin and so are constantly inclined towards evil.
When Jesus addresses us with these paradoxes, he is appealing to those deeper tensions, speaking to both parts of us. And losing one side or the other gets us equally into trouble.
Our first reading speaks to the generosity and goodness of God. God very clearly wants things to be well-ordered, to have a structure and a purpose. All of nature testifies to this. Then, when he reveals himself to Abraham, he immediately forms a covenant with rules. This pattern carries on with each new Old Testament patriarch, gradually increasing the clarity of the covenant and it’s structure. Moses is not only given the ten commandments, but also detailed instructions on building the Ark of the Covenant and the Tabernacle. God fiercely punishes the people who try to bypass the organization he has put in place.
And yet, we also see generosity and living flexibility here. Moses, cooperating with God’s structured way of operating, formally selects 72 people to be his assistants. He wants to integrate them into the divine order and God agrees to grant them a share of the Holy Spirit so they can do so. Two of those men, however, do not show up at the right time and place. But God gave them the spirit anyway. Though others are offended on Moses’ behalf, he is not upset because he recognizes God at work.
Moses knows what God is saying: that we are bound the order and structure God gives us, but God is not bound. It’s a lot like that other parable Jesus tells in which the landowner pays a full days wage to people who only worked a few hours – God can be generous with what belongs to him. In theology, we sometimes say “God is bound to the sacraments, but he is not bound by the sacraments.” In other words, God will always make the sacraments work because he promised to do so. We are obligated to perform and receive the sacraments; taking it upon ourselves to bypass them is a grave sin. But, nothing stops God from giving grace without the sacraments when he sees fit, usually for people who don’t know better or have no options. If we bypass the sacraments, it’s presumption. If God does it, it’s generosity. He’s God, we’re not.
So, when Jesus makes this point about not being against him means we’re for him, he stressing that fundamental goodness and generosity of God. He’s also reminding us that there is a basic level of goodness in human beings. All goodness comes from God, so if we see something that truly is good, we should reject it just because it didn’t come in the way we usually expect. I’ve heard stories of charismatic protestants praying the Hail Mary in other languages without realizing. God’s power can pull truth and goodness out of surprising places. There’s no reason to make enemies out of people just because they aren’t fully catechized and initiated into the Church. We should be glad of the goodness found in outsiders just as God is glad of it.
But Jesus has not forgotten about concupiscence either. So, Mark’s Gospel immediately reminds us that people inside and outside the Church have to watch against that natural inclination to sin and lead others to sin. The same person who is capable of giving a cup of water to a disciple is also capable of leading them astray. The kindness does not excuse the sin. Even before, Jesus was clear that someone cannot do a mighty deed and speak evil of God at the same time. Nothing stops someone from doing a miracle at one time and then later on teaching heresy and committing sin. God often does miracles through terrible people, so we take the miracle, but reject the sin.
And rejecting the sin is no light issue. Human beings have a tendency to put people on pedestals, to over-simplify their characters, and to let one instance of their goodness blind us to the dangers of their faults. The Church abuse scandal is a poignant example of how much harm that can do. That’s why Jesus is so graphic about millstones and dismemberment. When you look at this teaching in that light, it’s actually comforting to know that, no matter how good someone was in one situation, they will answer for the evils they do elsewhere. The corollary of that, of course, is that it applies to us too.
We should be comforted by God’s generosity and encouraged by human goodness, but also soberly convicted by the seriousness of sin. Nuance is something lost on people in the era of soundbites, tweets, and tiktoks, but it is essential to living the faith well. Nuance sees that God can do good through bad people and that good people are capable of great evil. It’s not us vs. them, but good vs. evil in every human heart.
So, examine your conscience. Do you extend the benefit of the doubt to “outsiders” who do good? Do you offer the “cup of water” to disciples of Christ? Do you fall into the trap of thinking generosity in one place excuses greed in another? St. James in the second reading offers a sobering conviction about wealth. If you make your money ripping people off and underpaying workers, being generous to the poor isn’t going to make that sin go away. God sees all – good and bad – and he will address every ounce of both in each and every person at the final judgment.
Thanks be to God he is merciful. He not only gives us the joy of learning right from wrong, he offers us the chance to be forgiven before it is too late. Do not presume: see the good, take sin seriously, and deal with it honestly while you still have the chance.