He That is Not Against You, is For You

Gospel Reflection for September 29, 2024 - Mark 9:37-47

John answered him, saying: Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, who followeth not us, and we forbade him.

But Jesus said: Do not forbid him. For there is no man that doth a miracle in my name, and can soon speak ill of me.

For he that is not against you, is for you.

For whosoever shall give you to drink a cup of water in my name, because you belong to Christ: amen I say to you, he shall not lose his reward.

And whosoever shall scandalize one of these little ones that believe in me; it were better for him that a millstone were hanged around his neck, and he were cast into the sea.

And if thy hand scandalize thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life, maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into unquenchable fire:

Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not extinguished.

And if thy foot scandalize thee, cut it off. It is better for thee to enter lame into life everlasting, than having two feet, to be cast into the hell of unquenchable fire:

Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not extinguished.

And if thy eye scandalize thee, pluck it out. It is better for thee with one eye to enter into the kingdom of God, than having two eyes to be cast into the hell of fire:

Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not extinguished. (Mark 9:37-47 DRA)

One of the most important and distinctive principles of Catholic Bible study is reading each passage in the context of the whole of Scripture, or what is today called “canonical exegesis.” Rather than arbitrarily selecting certain preferred verses and using them as a prooftext, Catholics are taught by the Church to read every part of Scripture with the whole in mind. This is precisely because, although written by human writers who were truly authors in their own right, contributing their own unique backgrounds, intentions and styles to their work, ultimately Scripture has only one Author: God Himself, the Word who is communicated through the words of Scripture. Accordingly, there can be no contradictions or errors in Scripture, nor should one part be interpreted independently of the rest.

This principle is important to remember in the readings for this Sunday. It is quite possible that in a homily on these selections one might hear something like, “See? There is no difference between those who are inside the ‘camp’ and those who are ‘outside.’ There is no ‘us versus them’ or exclusivity in Christianity – all are welcome and all are included, something even Moses understood before Christ’s coming!” However, when we read or hear these passages together, within the canonical integrity of Scripture, we see that this interpretation is false.

The Psalm, the Epistle from St. James and the second half of Our Lord’s teaching in the Gospel all confirm this fact. The Psalmist extolls the virtue of the Law, whose very purpose is to make men holy, “set apart” from the world, and he recognizes his sinfulness as separating him from God and the communion of the just. Likewise, St. James echoes Christ’s teaching, “It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven”, (Mt 19:24) and St. Paul’s warning that “the desire of money is the root of all evils”, (1 Tim 6:10) making it clear that those who are enslaved to greed and fail in charity have amassed worldly treasures which “will devour your flesh like a fire.” Finally, Christ uses strong hyperbolic language to make it clear that sin cannot be excused or ignored – only the perfect can enter Heaven, those who have repented of their sins and lived virtuously “in charity and truth”, (2 Jn 1:3), sanctified by Christ as the one and only Way to salvation: “There shall not enter into it any thing defiled, or that worketh abomination or maketh a lie, but they that are written in the book of life of the Lamb.” (Rev 21:27)

Nevertheless, as always, there is some truth in the erroneous indifferentism and politically-correct pluralism of our hypothetical homily. The point of Christ’s teaching, following from the preceding verses, is in support of children, that they may be allowed to follow Him; but His warning against scandalizing the “little ones” applies not only to children but also to those who are not “great” in the eyes of the world or even to many in the Church – the poor, the uneducated, the poorly catechized, the afflicted, those encumbered by habitual sins and vices, and yes, even non-Catholics

The true point, though, is not that these people should be left as they are, or that simply by virtue of their problems will they be saved. No, sin is the most democratic force in the world, excluding no one, campaigning for everyone’s vote, just as Satan wants all people to join him in Hell. But Christ, on the other hand, wants all people to know and to love Him. All human persons are designed to be adopted as children of God through Baptism, to share in the familial love of the Trinity forever – but God always respects our freedom to love Him or not, to accept Him or reject Him. For Christ, these “little ones” are also loved, and He wants His disciples to love them as He does, to teach them, to aid them, to correct them so that they may share in the adoption and receive the inheritance of the Gospel. He wants us to look past the appearances by which the world judges and to love all people as images of God, and, motivated by this love, to lead them and ourselves ever closer to Him.

It should also be noted that, both in the first reading and the Gospel, those outside the ‘camp’ are not irreligious or pagan – they are members of the Church, sharing the same faith as the rest, calling on the name of the Lord and performing works in His name. Thus, especially in the Gospel context, the ‘camp’ can be seen as the fullness of the Faith, the Catholic Church, those who are in full communion with the apostles and their successors, whereas the “little ones” outside the ‘camp’ are non-Catholic Christians, as well as Jews, who share our faith in the one true God but have mixed worldly errors into it and lack the fullness which is found only in the Catholic Church. Christ is therefore calling us to lead these people into His fullness, not to consign them to error.

This is the true message of the readings for today: God’s love is universal, but it is also corrective. God loves us too much to leave us in sin, to abandon us in darkness, knowing that without Him we are doomed to eternal misery and torment. By ignoring those whom the world ignores, we scandalize the “little ones” and thus deserve the damnation predicted by Christ in this Gospel reading, and one of the worst forms of scandal is indifference, failing to lead others to Christ through our words and deeds. Similarly, we should not assume that those who appear healthy, wealthy and popular are truly good or not in need of our love and counsel. God is not bound by His Sacraments, but we are, and so we must never fail in our missionary vocation as Catholics, even when it seems foolish, judgmental, intolerant, “proselytizing” or fanatical to the world and to some in the Church.