GOSPEL THOUGHTS
*Ordinary Season : Twenty Sixth Week: Monday*
*Gospel : Luke : 9:46-50*
*First Reading : Job 1: 6-22*
*Responsorial Psalm : 17: 1-7*
*Jesus is not the property of a small group. We do not possess Jesus; we belong to Jesus*
*1) The disciples wanted to control Jesus' name*
The man was not one of the Twelve. The disciples apparently thought: “He is not one of us, so he should not be doing this.”
Their mistake was to confuse belonging to their group with belonging to God’s work.
Jesus corrects them. The work of God is greater than our group, our parish, our community, our movement, our denomination or our ministry.
A very good sentence for reflection is: “God’s grace is never the private property of a particular group.”
*2) “Good can be done by anyone” — what is the logic?*
There is a very important logic here. Goodness does not become good only because “our person” does it.
Suppose someone who is not a Catholic helps a poor family, saves a child from danger, feeds a hungry person, forgives an enemy or cares for an abandoned elderly person. Can we say: “It is not valuable because he is not one of us”? Certainly not.
The good action remains good. The disciples were looking at the identity of the person: “He does not follow with us.”
Jesus looks at the fruit of the action. This gives us a wonderful principle: Do not reject the good simply because it comes from someone outside your circle.
Goodness is not made sacred by the identity of the person who performs it.
*3) The Bible itself shows that God works beyond “our group”*
There are many examples.
*The Good Samaritan* — Luke 10:25–37 : The Samaritan was an outsider in the eyes of the Jews. Yet Jesus presents the Samaritan, not the religious leaders, as the example of mercy.
The question was not: “Which group does he belong to?”
The question was: “Who showed mercy?”
*Cornelius* — Acts 10 : Cornelius was a Gentile. Yet Peter discovers: “I truly understand that God shows no partiality.” (Acts 10:34) And Peter recognizes that God is already at work in him.
*The Magi* — Matthew 2:1–12 : The first people who come to worship the newborn King are not Jewish religious leaders but Gentile seekers from the East. God can lead people toward Christ in ways that surprise the religious community.
*“God so loved the world…”* - John 3:16 : Not merely one group. Not one nation. Not one parish. Not one community. But the The world.
*4) “Jesus does not belong to the few”*
The Gospel gives us a deeper truth: Jesus belongs to no exclusive group because Jesus came for everyone.
The disciples seem to think: “Jesus is with us.”
But Jesus gradually teaches them: “I am not only for you. I am for everyone.”
This is also seen in John 10:16: “I have other sheep that are not of this fold.”
Jesus' mission always moves beyond boundaries.
He crosses boundaries of:
Jew and Gentile
clean and unclean
rich and poor
sinner and respectable person
insider and outsider
*5) There is a connection between the child and the outsider*
This is one of the most beautiful aspects of Luke 9.
First the disciples ask: “Who is the greatest?” Jesus places a child beside him.
Then John says: “We tried to stop him because he does not follow with us.”
These two incidents are connected.
The disciples want: greatness + recognition + belonging + control.
Jesus teaches: humility + welcome + openness + service.
In other words: The disciple of Jesus must not ask, “How important am I?” but “How can I welcome and serve?”
*6) A wonderful paradox: “Jesus does not belong Only to us”*
We often say: “Our Jesus.”
But spiritually the deeper truth is: Jesus is not ours to possess. We are his to follow.
We cannot say:
“Only our group can do good.”
“Only our ministry is important.”
“Only our people can serve.”
“If they are not with us, they are against us.”
Jesus reverses this mentality.
The Church is not a club protecting its membership.
It is meant to be a community that recognizes and cooperates with goodness.
*7) Application to our life*
*A) Do not be jealous of another person's goodness* : Sometimes someone outside our group does something wonderful. Instead of saying: “Why is he getting appreciation?” we should say: “Thank God that good has been done.” The good is more important than our recognition.
*B) Do not monopolize God's work* : A parish may have its own ministries. Another parish may do something differently. A young person may begin an initiative that was not started by the older generation. Our response should not immediately be: “Who gave them permission?” Sometimes the better question is: “How can we support the good that is already happening?”
*C) Learn to appreciate goodness in non-Christians too* : A Catholic may encounter tremendous generosity from the members of other communities. We should be able to say: “That is a good act. I thank God for it.” Recognition of goodness in another person does not diminish our own faith.
*D) Parents can apply this to children* : Sometimes parents compare: “Our child is better than their child.” Jesus teaches us not to turn even goodness into a competition. A child from another family may show greater generosity, discipline or kindness. Instead of jealousy: “Let us learn from that goodness.”
*E) In parish life, avoid “our group” mentality* There can easily be:
Choir vs choir,
Youth vs elders,
Old members vs new members
One association vs another association
Parishioners vs outsiders
Luke 9 says: The Kingdom of God is bigger than our group. A person who contributes something beautiful should not be rejected because he or she is not part of “our circle.”
*F) In society, recognize the good wherever it appears*
A doctor saves a life.
A police officer protects someone.
A teacher changes a child's future.
A neighbour helps a poor family.
A stranger returns a lost purse.
A person of another faith feeds the hungry.
We should have the humility to say: “There is goodness here.”
We do not lose anything by recognizing it.
*8) Good or Who did it?
There is a danger even in religion: We can become more interested in defending our group than advancing God's Kingdom.
The disciples were not angry because the man was doing evil.
They were angry because: “He does not follow with us.”
That phrase can become a spiritual warning.
Sometimes our real problem is not: “Is this good?” but: “Who did it?”
Jesus says: Look first at the good being done, not merely at the identity of the person doing it.
“The disciples wanted to protect Jesus from outsiders; Jesus wanted to protect his disciples from exclusiveness.”
“Jesus is too big for our circle, God's goodness is too great for our group, and the Kingdom is too wide for our boundaries.”
*Think about it*
*God bless you and your family. Praying for you and your dear ones*
*Fr Maxim DSouza*
*Jeppu Seminary*
*Mangalore*
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