We follow a God who can work through anyone, anytime, in any place.

 

Twenty sixth Sunday in OT  B 2024 

Thank you for coming together to pray together, to give thanks to the Lord our God for the blessings of our lives.  There is no better way to give thanks than by coming together in the celebration of the Eucharist.  The Eucharist is the North Star of living life with an attitude of gratitude.

 

In this outdoor celebration of the Eucharist and in our parish picnic we come together to pray together and to socialize together.  WE come together as sister parishes who share our giftedness with each other.  As St Joseph’s and the Church of the Holy Spirit, we don’t’ come together to compete with each other; rather we come to pray together, to inspire each other, to love and serve each other.  We come together following the example and at his command to be fed and nourished at the Table of the Lord.

It is always good for us to be in Church; it is also good for us to celebrate the Eucharist in the beauty of God’s creation.  It is good for us to remember that St Joseph’s is a building that houses the Church.  WE the community of the baptized, we the people of God are the Church where God dwells.

The Scriptures today remind us that God dwells within all people, from our earliest ancestors in faith, to all of us in this present day and age.  Moses came to the realization that God was deeply immersed in all the chosen people, not just a few.   In the first reading from the book of Numbers, the biblical writer describes the people encamped with Moses, and God bestowing upon them a share of the divine prophetic spirit that has been given to Moses.

 

Initially, some of the Israelites were jealous that the spirit of prophesy too widely.  They thought they were the inner circle, so to speak.

 

But the message was much more inclusive:  God dwells in each of us.

 

In the Gospel, the disciples try to stop someone who was driving out demons just like them. They had to learn that their way was, in fact, a much narrower way than the Lord’s way, and that their narrow perspective was an obstacle to the Lord’s work getting done. Those they judged to be ‘not one of us’, Jesus regarded as ‘for us.’

 

One of the most difficult things for people of faith to acknowledge is that we can’t put limits on God.  It’s impossible to set boundaries in which God can work.

 

In contrast to his disciples, Jesus was able to recognize and encourage goodness wherever he found it. He knew that the Spirit blows where it wills. He was alert to the presence of the Spirit in anyone.

 

We follow a God who can work through anyone, any place, any time.

 

The main point is that we all have a role to play in recognizing and supporting the working of the Spirit in each other. Towards the end of his first letter to the Thessalonians, Paul says, “Do not quench the Spirit.” (Thess 5:19) How do we quench the Holy Spirit in others?  There are several examples. We can become a stumbling block, an obstacle, to God’s working in their lives. We can quench the Spirit in others and hinder the good work that God is doing through them for a whole variety of very human reasons. We can be motivated by jealousy, as Moses suggests Joshua was in today’s first reading.

 

Like the disciples, we can refuse to acknowledge God’s good work in the lives of others because they are not ‘one of us’, because they belong to a different church or religion or ethnic group. We can also be dismissive of the good someone else is doing simply because it is not the way we would have done it, forgetting that the Holy Spirit works in many diverse ways in people’s lives.

 

So, what message do we take home this Sunday?  The mark of a true disciple and steward of Jesus Christ is an attitude of encouragement, accompaniment, compassion and acceptance of the gifts of others.

 

It is a mystery to me in my own family that not all of us practice our Catholicism in the same way.  Yet, we are not called to be judgmental of others; rather we are to have this attitude of encouragement, accompaniment, compassion and acceptance of the gifts of others.

 

This message is most appropriate for our generous support of the Catholic Ministries Appeal.  We are called to share our financial resources beyond the confines of our parish to support people in need throughout our diocese.  The Spirit of God dwells in everyone, and they are much deserving of our support.  The CMA stands for what is good and worthwhile in our diocese reaching out to the poor beyond the confines of our parish boundaries.

 

From the perspective of the Gospel demand, we cannot not reach out beyond our comfort zone to serve the needs of our larger diocese.

 

 

My guarantee to you is that you will never regret your generosity to others.

 

My prayerful question for us is what do we consider our true treasures to be?  Our true wealth is to be found in our love and service of one another.  Love and hospitality live on in the giver and the receiver and do not fade away like temporary earthly treasures.

 

This Sunday’s readings invite us to ponder the ways of our God whose prophetic Spirit has been poured out freely upon all people, all creation.  Rather than quenching the Spirit in others and hindering the good work that God is doing through them, we are urged to recognize, encourage, affirm and share our blessings with others.

 

Even as we gather today in the beauty of God’s creation, may we not limit the workings in our own lives and in the lives of each other.  All is a gift of God.

 

Have a Blessed Day.