This morning’s Gospel reading is Mark 9:38–43, 45, 47–48:

At that time, John said to Jesus, “Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name, and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow us.” Jesus replied, “Do not prevent him. There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name who can at the same time speak ill of me. For whoever is not against us is for us. Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ, amen, I say to you, will surely not lose his reward.

“Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were put around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed than with two hands to go into Gehenna, into the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut if off. It is better for you to enter into life crippled than with two feet to be thrown into Gehenna. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. Better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into Gehenna, where ‘their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.’” 

We spend a lot of time and effort on rules, and that's not always a bad thing. After all, the Lord Himself gave us His 'rules' on stone tablets. (Twice!) Rules help to form us as disciples and as positive contributors in cooperative societies. Unfortunately, we have spent most of the intervening millennia attempting to evade them, or to rationalize away our violations of His Commandments.

Our failures and shortcomings don't eliminate the need for discipline in our communities and in our faith. Rather, our failures remind us of their necessity, and our sins call us back to those 'rules' in the Word. But at times, we tend to make the rules into idols rather than tools of learning and discipline, as well as ways to stake out our own claims over others as a priority rather than focusing on the Lord's will and our responsibilities to Him. And when we begin indulging in this impulse, we contradict what the Lord calls us to do in the Great Commission.

Today's readings give us two gentle glimpses of this impulse. In our first reading from Numbers, we hear that the Lord sent the Holy Spirit to rest on seventy elders gathered together so that they could prophesy along with Moses. Two others who were not present, Eldad and Medad, also received the spirit and began to teach others. 

This created consternation in Moses' retinue, especially with Joshua, who asked Moses to put a stop to it. Moses scoffed, "Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the people of the LORD were prophets! Would that the LORD might bestow his spirit on them all!” Moses understood the nature of the Lord's call to Israel: to become a nation of priests and prophets so that they could call all nations to His Word. By this time, however, the Israelites had already fallen short of that mission, and would later discard it altogether in favor of worldly power.

The point, however, remained that the Lord called everyone through that mission. It was not a message of exclusivity but inclusivity.

That is also Jesus' point in today's Gospel. In almost the same set of circumstances, the disciples fret that someone not of their number had begun to perform great works through the name of Jesus. Jesus offers a response similar to Moses' in Numbers, but adds a critical teaching to it: "Whoever is not against us is for us."

This is a powerful statement of inclusivity, one that cuts against human tradition. When we form communities, we almost always assume the exact opposite. Sometimes, we even declare it explicitly: Whoever is not with us is against us. That is usually a rallying cry for battle of some sort, but even in more benign contexts, it serves to sever connections and promote exclusivity. The Pharisees and the scribes act in similar manners throughout the Gospels and into the Acts of the Apostles, perhaps no better personified than by Saul of Tarsus -- who later became the Apostle Paul and a great advocate for inclusiveness, especially with the Gentiles.

Jesus then follows this statement with His famous warning about prioritizing salvation even at the expense of our own bodies. This seems almost discordant to the previous part of today's Gospel, but note what Jesus emphasizes: a focus on our own personal compliance to the Law and His Word. Jesus is warning here to mind ourselves when it comes to enforcing the rules, not others -- another form of the lesson about minding the beam in our own eye before the speck in our neighbor's eye. We are called, as disciples, to discipline ourselves rather than worry about the application of 'rules' to others. 

All of this culminates in the Great Commission, the ultimate declaration of inclusiveness. Jesus calls us to "make disciples of all nations," not to discipline them ourselves. The mission is to proclaim the Word to all, so that all can choose salvation, no matter their status or sin. Jesus did not send the Apostles out to pass the Word only to the worthy, because no one is worthy of salvation without Christ.   

It's not about the rules. It's about the Word, and about allowing Jesus into our hearts so that we can discipline ourselves to remove sin from our lives. Does that require 'rules'? It does, and that includes enforcement -- but as a method of inclusion rather than exclusion. We should recall that when we get so passionate about rules that we forget that they exist to serve salvation rather than ourselves. 

Jesus came to this world and sacrificed Himself so that all may choose salvation. That is the mission we serve -- to include all who can be called, rather than to exclude those who do not meet our own standards.  

Previous reflections on these readings:

• That we all would be prophets: Sunday reflection (2021)
• Exclusive! Insiders-only deal on a Sunday reflection (2018)
• Sunday reflection: Mark 9:38–43, 45, 47–48 (2015)

The front page image is a mosaic of Moses from the early Byzantine era (circa 6th century) in the Basilica of San Vitale, in Ravenna, Italy. Via Wikimedia Commons. 

“Sunday Reflection” is a regular feature, looking at the specific readings used in today’s Mass in Catholic parishes around the world. The reflection represents only my own point of view, intended to help prepare myself for the Lord’s day and perhaps spark a meaningful discussion. Previous Sunday Reflections from the main page can be found here.