Father Koch: Jealousy has infected the Church from the beginning
September 27, 2024 at 2:24 p.m.
Gospel reflection for Sept. 29, 2024, 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time
The evangelists tend to include various sayings of Jesus into the travelogue sections within the Gospel in what appears to be a technique to slow down the movement from the Galilee to Jerusalem. This often leaves the casual reader wondering how one saying of Jesus relates to the others in the same pericope.
Jesus and the disciples have been moving, albeit slowly, from Capernaum to Jerusalem. The conversation with the disciples regarding who Jesus is still weighing on them, and so is the rebuke they received from Jesus as they argued amongst themselves as to which of them was the greatest.
This jealousy that the disciples displayed among themselves now spills over as John informs Jesus about an encounter they had with an exorcist who was expelling demons using the name of Jesus, but who was unknown to them. John reports: “Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name, and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow us.” It seems that the disciples here are yet forgetting that all of them are following Jesus; they are not the center of the ministry. This same jealousy will also impact the early church as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles.
One of the sins that is destructive to any sense of community, and a shared faith and vision is this experience of jealousy. However, we are not quick to identify our motive as jealousy, often attempting, as does John, to express distrust and suspicion on what we deem a more noble or superior level. Yet, when we get to the core of the experience, often it is amplified and perhaps even induced, by our tendencies towards jealousy.
St. Paul identifies jealousy or envy among what are called the ‘deadly sins.” While there are various ways of translating the original Greek text, it may be best rendered as “sadness related to the good fortune or welfare of another.” On an emotional level, this reflects a desire to reject someone or a group of people while debasing them in the process.
Jesus warns his disciples against this tendency and then Mark has Jesus shift our attention to causing others to sin.
Immediately our thoughts jump to the offering of scandal. We are all too well aware of scandal and its consequences. The on-going effects of the multi-layers of scandal that has plagued our Church for the past 20 years remains painful and disruptive in the lives of the faithful. This has led many out of the Church, and even created and augmented the atmosphere of disdain that many feel for the church today.
Jesus then moves to a yet deeper challenge -- remove whatever causes you to sin. His emphasis here is very strong and direct, using blunt language” cut off hand or foot, or pluck out your eye if they cause you to sin.
Was it Mark’s intent to shift focus so quickly or did he intentionally link the sayings of Jesus to drive home a greater point?
It might appear that the entire conversation here is about sin, and specifically the roots of sin. Sin, the absolute rupture of our relationship with God, comes from our desires first to be possessive and feel superior, even in our religious obligations and expressions.
When we speak a sin, or commit a sin, we never do so in isolation. Any sin can prove to be an occasion to lead another to sin or to weaken their resolve against sin. That sin, then, reverts back to the one who posed the sin in the first place, more than it does for the one who subsequently sinned.
Do we first view the world through the eyes of grace, or through the eyes of sin? Jesus seems to be telling us that we must overcome the tendencies towards spiritual envy or jealousy as that becomes the grounding place for the subsequent expressions of sin in our lives.
Father Garry Koch is pastor of St. Benedict Parish, Holmdel.
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Gospel reflection for Sept. 29, 2024, 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time
The evangelists tend to include various sayings of Jesus into the travelogue sections within the Gospel in what appears to be a technique to slow down the movement from the Galilee to Jerusalem. This often leaves the casual reader wondering how one saying of Jesus relates to the others in the same pericope.
Jesus and the disciples have been moving, albeit slowly, from Capernaum to Jerusalem. The conversation with the disciples regarding who Jesus is still weighing on them, and so is the rebuke they received from Jesus as they argued amongst themselves as to which of them was the greatest.
This jealousy that the disciples displayed among themselves now spills over as John informs Jesus about an encounter they had with an exorcist who was expelling demons using the name of Jesus, but who was unknown to them. John reports: “Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name, and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow us.” It seems that the disciples here are yet forgetting that all of them are following Jesus; they are not the center of the ministry. This same jealousy will also impact the early church as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles.
One of the sins that is destructive to any sense of community, and a shared faith and vision is this experience of jealousy. However, we are not quick to identify our motive as jealousy, often attempting, as does John, to express distrust and suspicion on what we deem a more noble or superior level. Yet, when we get to the core of the experience, often it is amplified and perhaps even induced, by our tendencies towards jealousy.
St. Paul identifies jealousy or envy among what are called the ‘deadly sins.” While there are various ways of translating the original Greek text, it may be best rendered as “sadness related to the good fortune or welfare of another.” On an emotional level, this reflects a desire to reject someone or a group of people while debasing them in the process.
Jesus warns his disciples against this tendency and then Mark has Jesus shift our attention to causing others to sin.
Immediately our thoughts jump to the offering of scandal. We are all too well aware of scandal and its consequences. The on-going effects of the multi-layers of scandal that has plagued our Church for the past 20 years remains painful and disruptive in the lives of the faithful. This has led many out of the Church, and even created and augmented the atmosphere of disdain that many feel for the church today.
Jesus then moves to a yet deeper challenge -- remove whatever causes you to sin. His emphasis here is very strong and direct, using blunt language” cut off hand or foot, or pluck out your eye if they cause you to sin.
Was it Mark’s intent to shift focus so quickly or did he intentionally link the sayings of Jesus to drive home a greater point?
It might appear that the entire conversation here is about sin, and specifically the roots of sin. Sin, the absolute rupture of our relationship with God, comes from our desires first to be possessive and feel superior, even in our religious obligations and expressions.
When we speak a sin, or commit a sin, we never do so in isolation. Any sin can prove to be an occasion to lead another to sin or to weaken their resolve against sin. That sin, then, reverts back to the one who posed the sin in the first place, more than it does for the one who subsequently sinned.
Do we first view the world through the eyes of grace, or through the eyes of sin? Jesus seems to be telling us that we must overcome the tendencies towards spiritual envy or jealousy as that becomes the grounding place for the subsequent expressions of sin in our lives.
Father Garry Koch is pastor of St. Benedict Parish, Holmdel.