September 27, 2015
Gospel: Mk 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 (1)
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 (2)
than with two hands to go into Gehenna (3), into the unquenchable (4) fire. And if your
foot causes you to sin, cut if off. It is better for you to enter into life crippled (5)
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.'"
The difficult words
(1) Millstones are stones used for grinding
wheat or other grains.
(2) To maim someone means to injure him so
that part of the body is permanently damaged.
(3) Gehenna means hell.
(4) To quench a fire is to extinguish or to stop
it from shining.
(5) To cripple means to cause someone to
become unable to move or walk properly.
This week’s spotlight
The hosts and the wine
In the Eucharistic Prayer, the Priest offers the hosts to God.The hosts
are pieces of round, flat, unleavened bread. They are flat, rather than puffy
and soft like sandwich bread, because they are made without yeast. At the
consecration, these hosts become the Body of Christ. The Priest also pours wine
and a drop of water into the chalice. The wine becomes the Blood of Christ.
Reflection
Jesus taught his disciples two different things in
today’s gospel. First, when John came to him saying that someone, not one of
them, was exorcizing demons in Jesus’ name, Jesus explained that
anyone who was not against them was with them. If the person acted in Jesus’
name, he would not be capable of speaking out against him. The second teaching
involved the way a person should respond to temptation. Not that Jesus proposed
that people inflict wounds on themselves, but to make his point clearly, he
suggested ridding ourselves of the parts of our bodies that lead us to
sinfulness. Rather than commit sinful acts using our hands, eyes, feet, or
ears, it would be better to enter heaven without those body parts than to use
them sinfully and live in eternal damnation.
The early followers of Jesus belonged to what they
thought was a very special club - and it was. There were only twelve in that
first group that followed Jesus. They felt very good about being part of
Jesus's team. In Jesus' name they healed sick people and taught them about the
Kingdom of God. One day the disciples saw someone who was not a member of their
group doing good things in Jesus' name. You would think they would be happy to
see other people doing good things, but were they? No, they told them to stop
what they were doing because they were not a part of their special group.
The disciples thought Jesus would be pleased by their
actions, so they went and told him what they had done. To their surprise, Jesus
was not pleased. "Don't stop people who are doing good things in my
name" Jesus said. "No one who is doing good things in my name will
then turn around and say bad things about me. Anyone who is not against us is
for us."
It is good to belong to a group, but it is especially
good to be a part of the family of God. The family of God is very large and
there are many different groups who make up that family. Whenever we see anyone
who is doing good in Jesus' name, we should not be jealous. We should rejoice
and be glad because "If they aren't against us, they are for us."
Discussion questions
1. Why did the disciples want to stop the person who
was healing in Jesus' name?
2. What might the disciples feel when they saw people
who can drive out demons like they can?
3. What does it mean to be jealous?
4. Why might a person be jealous of another person?
What are some signs that a person is jealous?
5.What answer did Jesus give to his disciples?
Praying after Communion
After
receiving Holy Communion,
you can say this prayer silently to yourself. If you
have not yet
received your First Communion, you can still say this prayer because of your desire to
receive Jesus.
Father, through Jesus, in
communion with the whole Church, I thank you for coming into my heart. Help us
to be rejoice and be glad when we see other members doing good things in your
name.Please keep us from being jealous
of the things others can do.
Crossword Puzzle
http://usccb.org/bible/readings-audio.cfm