Shikrot Mpwi - Sunday Synopsis with Fr. Justine J. Dyikuk

26^th Sunday of the Year, B – September 30, 2018.

Readings: Numbers 11:25-29; Ps 18:8,10,12-14; James 5:1-6; 

Gospel – Mark 9:38-43,45,47-48.

Theme: A Call to be Truly Catholic!

Introduction

Friends in Christ, our liturgy this Sunday reminds us about the universality of salvation and the need to fight for a common humanity rather than preoccupy ourselves with denominationalism or  religious differences. In both the Nicene and Apostolic Creeds, we profess belief in the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. Despite the fact that the Catholic Church prides itself as being Catholic or Universal, history painfully reveals the position of the Church before Vatican Council II that outside the Catholic Church, there is no salvation. 

This assertion did not only shut others out but prevented Catholics from seeing or recognizing the good in others. On the level of the unity of Christians, despite the various attempts at ecumenism in Nigeria, the church is still contending with challenges which stand in the way of intra-faith relations some of which include: Theological differences or liturgical differences, hierarchical and theological triumphalism, ethnicity and tribalism, religious bigotry and lack of a united voice as Christians amongst others. Our relationships with Muslims in Nigeria have regrettably also been marred by religious triumphalism, bias, propaganda, belligerence and religious intolerance. 

To correct this anomaly, the Fathers of the Vatican II Council in Nostra Aetate (8/10/1965) – The Declaration on the Relation of Church to Non-Christians which Pope Benedict XVI calls the Magna Carta of interreligious dialogue, the Council Fathers having acknowledged that in the past the relation between Christians and Muslims was fraught with suspicion and fear, now “pleads with all to forget the past, and urges that a sincere effort be made to achieve mutual understanding...”

The Church Fathers believed that when mutual understanding between Christians and Muslims is realised, only then can we “preserve and promote peace, liberty, social justice and moral values...”  It took a bold and magnanimous John Paul II to apologize for the sins of the Church. Our reflection this Sunday calls us to not only extend the olive branch to our separated brethren and engage in dialogue with Muslims but seek good wherever we see it and also fight for a common humanity.  

Background & Summary of the Readings

In today’s first reading (Numbers 11:25-29), we hear how God took some of the spirit that was on Moses and put it on seventy elders. It is important to note that at this time, Moses was aging and the grumbling of the people was on the increase. As a result the demands of the ministry became difficult for him. God decided to ensure division of labour to caution the effects of the people’s burden on Moses. However, we are told that Moses’ assistant, Joshua who had been serving him from youth reported Eldad and Medad to Moses when he saw them prophesying in the camp. He wanted Moses to stop them but Moses rebuked him by saying, he wished everyone in the camp were a prophet and had the spirit of God. While the text reveals the seeming jealousy of Joshua, it discloses the magnanimity of Moses. 

The second reading (James 5:1-6) comes hard on the rich who cheat the poor, live a life of comfort and luxury eating to their heart’s content even as they condemn and kill the innocent. The Lord says, start crying now and weep for the impending miseries because your wealth is rotting, your clothes eaten by the moth and your gold and silver are corroding. It emphasizes that corrosion will be your sentence because it will eat up your body. It also notes that it was a burning fire that you stored up as your treasure for the last days because you were not magnanimous; you were not large-hearted or generous - instead, you were selfish and cheated; you were not truly Catholic by providing a shelter for the poorest of the poor in your life. 

In the gospel (Mark 9:38-43,45,47-48), Jesus’ disciples tried to stop a man who was not one of them from casting out devils in his name. He swiftly rebukes them – why must you stop him? Since he works miracles in my name, he cannot likely be against us. He goes ahead to state that anyone who is kind to you for the sake of Christ would be rewarded but warned those who cause scandal which makes children to fall into sin to repent or be eternally doomed. It ends with the call on us to remove everything that causes us to sin so as to enjoy the beatific vision.    

Internal & External Universality 

a). Internal Universality

This is much like Mission ad intra which entails forming a synergy amongst all the Pious Societies and Sodalities in the Church. Above all, it requires all efforts at not giving bad example to the young which our gospel refers to as scandal. What this means is that since children deserve all attention and care in the world, it is the responsibility of parents as first teachers and the Church to foster the unity of the spirit within the body of Christ.   

b). External Universality

This is akin to Mission ad extra which touches on our relationship with our Protestant and Pentecostal brethren known in theology as ecumenism. It is important to focus our energy on our strengths namely, the scriptures, the theology of the Trinity, sacraments like baptism and intra-faith marriages, our unity as God’s children, ecumenical gatherings and prayer.

Engaging with other Christians through exploiting other opportunities such as intra-faith relations, faith-sharing by experts and the faithful, common gathering like Christmas carols, choral concerts, common projects like hospitals, schools, fixing of roads, volunteerism and exchange programme in schools remains key to ecumenical rendezvous.

The story is told of a Parish Priest who was approached by a man to baptize his dog. The priest who identified the man as a Protestant was annoyed and turned the man back saying, “This is the Catholic Church, we don’t baptize animals.” The man who held his dog tightly apologized to the priest and said, “I had written a cheque of 20 thousand dollars as stipend for the baptism.” On hearing that, the priest smiled and said, “Why did you not tell me that your dog is a Catholic? Be sure it’s done.”  

Four Types of Dialogue

To further ensure the universality of the message of salvation, in 1984 the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue which made a case for dialogue and mission proposed four kinds of dialogue aimed at healing a broken-world:

1. Dialogue of Life: Dialogue of life happens in a situation “where people strive to live in an open and neighbourly spirit.” It happens in the ordinary events of life – work-place, institutions or in the neighbourhood. Here, people get to know each other and strive to live in peace with them. For instance, when we go to the bank or market, dialogue of life takes place as customers are not treated based on their religion. This kind of dialogue requires patience, perseverance as well as personal and communal effort anchored on our common humanity.

2. Dialogue of Action: Wherever Christians and Muslims work together to promote peace, liberty, social justice and moral values, dialogue of action takes place. These creeds stand for justice, peace and respect for life as well as human dignity. Since both religions share common human values and see the human as the custodian of the earth endowed with the power to use the earth’s resources justly, it is an imperative for Muslims and Christians “to collaborate in addressing social concerns based on these common religious motives and values” – This is dialogue of action. Many Christians have saved Muslims and Muslims, Christians against attacks during crisis. This is dialogue of action. 

3. Theological Dialogue or Dialogue of Experts: When academics, experts, theologians or religious leaders of various religions meet to clarify issues, create greater understanding, they are engaged in dialogue of experts. This kind of dialogue helps to remove prejudices that blind religious leaders of a particular creed from seeing the good in another faith. It also helps them to appreciate each other’s spiritual values while having a better understanding of their differences. An example of this is the Christian-Islam Congress which was co-organized with the World Islamic Call Society (WICS) in Tripoli in 1976.

4. Dialogue of Religious Experience: This kind of dialogue takes place at interfaith prayer sessions where religious texts are jointly read and reflected upon by members of both faiths. This kind of dialogue also requires a level of expertise. While this type of dialogue requires expertise, it could take place in local communities when there is a genuine need to come together to seek the face of God – such occasions could be during draught or famine. An example was when Pope John Paul II visited the Umayyad Mosque in 2001 becoming the first Pope to visit the Mosque, 1,363 years after Caliph ‘Umar Ibn Khattab visited the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. 

 Pastoral Application & Practical Lessons

1. The fact that Eldad and Medad were not among the seventy elders but were given a share of the spirit of Moses tells us that there is division of labour in the Church – the priest cannot be a Mass Server or take the place of the Council Chairman because by the virtue of our baptism, we have been empowered by God to share in the priestly, kingly and prophetic mission of Christ through the Ministerial and Common Priesthood of Christ which gives us different rights and privileges in the Church geared towards the same goal.

 2. Those who have the tendency to be jealous like Moses’ assistant Joshua are charged to have a rethink because God can use anyone he deems fit for his mighty works.

3. From Moses, we learn the big-brother mentality of someone who was in charge but was at the same time willing to share his power with others thus challenging us to embrace the collaborative ministry or co-responsibility especially between priests and religious in our parishes and other ecclesiastical institutions for the growth of God’s kingdom. 

 4. In the spirit of being Catholic and sharing the universality of the faith, the rich are called upon to shun selfishness and cheating so as to embrace large-heartedness by being generous and providing shelter in their lives for the poorest of the poor because the final judgment would be based on this (Matthew 25:35-40).

 5. By rebuking his disciples for stopping a man who was not one of them from casting out devils in his name, Jesus wants to teach us to acknowledge good wherever we see it because salvation has a universal character. 

6. Those who cause scandal especially those who introduce children to pornography, illicit sexual behaviour, alcohol and occultic groups must have a rethink or know that they are wearing a seatbelt to the land of no-return where eternal agony awaits them.

7. Jesus’ call that we should remove everything that causes us to sin so as to enjoy the beatific vision entails that we must be bold enough to break the bridge that makes us to sin even if that bridge was constructed by our dearest family members and friends.

8. Our liturgy encourages us to always open the doors of friendship to our Muslim neighbours seeing them as partners in progress.

9. We are called to engage in dialogue every day with our Muslim brothers and sisters not only with the sophisticated language of “Inter-religious dialogue” but by seeking ways to respond to the needs of Muslims as exemplified by the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37).

10. We are challenged to practice gestures which open the doors of friendship between Muslims and Christians towards making the world a better place to live in.

11. Based on the demands of Nostra Aetate, we are challenged to recognize the truth present in other religions like Islam such as prayer, concern for the poor, fasting and spiritual discipline.

12. We are equally invited to initiate points of contact as basis for mutual trust and respect through working together with other believers for the benefit of humanity.

13. We also challenged to form a sense of fellow-feeling between Christians and Muslins based on Matthew (25:35-40) on the invitation of Christ to be Catholic which implies embracing others without bias. 

Homiletic Points to Remember

1. Our reflection this Sunday calls us to not only extend the olive branch to our separated brethren and engage in dialogue with Muslims but seek good wherever we see it and also fight for a common humanity.  

2. While the text reveals the seeming jealousy of Joshua, it discloses the magnanimity of Moses.

3. Mission ad intra entails forming a synergy amongst all the Pious Societies and Sodalities in the Church.

4. Mission ad extra which touches on our relationship with our Protestant and Pentecostal brethren known in theology as ecumenism.

5. Those saddled with the responsibility of teaching the young must ensure that young people are taught the values of respect and tolerance.

Conclusion

Those saddled with the responsibility of teaching the young must ensure that young people are taught the values of respect and tolerance. As vanguards for a common humanity, we ought to be involved in ecumenical initiatives with our separated brethren and dialogue with Muslims if the world must experience the must expected growth. Someone has said, “Civilized people solve their problems through dialogue.” Salvation entails mutual respect for one another’s creed, synergy and prayer. However, we must be conscious of Jesus’ warning: “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves” (Matthew 10:16). The four kinds of dialogue proposed by the Church could heal a broken-world if become truly Catholic. Have a blessed week!