I don’t know about you but I find it hard to believe that we’re already in the last days of September; where has the year gone!?! The ongoing pandemic has caused a real time warp and now the days are getting shorter, the nights are getting longer – real signs that the year is coming to a close. And, our liturgical year is coming to an end, as well; Advent begins in just eight weeks. Once again, our Scripture readings begin to point us toward the end times, and the fulfillment of the kingdom of God. We should make sure, in these end times, not to miss the point of the lessons our God provides us in today’s readings. Unfortunately, Joshua, Moses’ special aide, and John, Jesus’ beloved disciple, sometimes did, as we hear in today’s readings.
In our first reading today, we hear Joshua protest to Moses that Eldad and Medad were not present when the Spirit of God came and rested upon the elders, so they should not be prophesying. Pay attention to Moses’ response. He essentially tells Joshua that he’s missing the point. “Would that all the people of the LORD were prophets!” he declares.
And, in our Gospel, John protests to Jesus that someone not in their company was using the power of Jesus’ name to drive out demons. Here, Jesus tells John that he’s missing the point. “Whoever is not against us is for us,” he tells him.
So what is the point? The gifts of prophecy and driving out demons have been given to men and women down through the ages to help those around them become aware of God’s kingdom in our midst and the fullness of God’s kingdom soon to come for all of us. The point of these actions is to awaken in us a greater realization of God’s kingdom among us. So, as we listen to these readings, we should be asking ourselves: are we helping to build up God’s kingdom by our daily actions, speaking for God and facing off the power of the Devil with goodness? Notice that Jesus uses this occasion to speak of a very simple act – sharing a cup of water with someone in need – and avoiding any act that would leading others to sin as examples of how bring about God’s kingdom in our midst today as we all prepare for the end of our lives and the end of time, when we all want to attain our final goal of entering the fullness of God’s kingdom – heaven – rather than going to hell. Remember, in our Lord’s time, Gehenna was a garbage dump outside of Jerusalem where trash was always burning; Jesus referred it often as a sign of hell. As we hear so clearly in today’s second reading, chasing after material things at the expense of others prepares us for eternity in hell.
And, James drives this point home for us today, reminding us that earthly treasures have no lasting value – that injustice toward others is known to God and will serve, among other things, as testimony against us.
Now, having a nice house and car and the latest technological gadgets are good things to have. Having a close, loving relationship with God, our spouse, our children, parents and neighbors, however, is more important. Like wealth that rots away and the clothes that become moth-eaten in today’s second reading, everything we collect in this life will be left behind when we are called before God. Of course, God invites us to enjoy his many blessings. But, we need to listen to the ancient prophets and, most important, to the greatest prophet, our Lord, Jesus Christ, to ensure that the things we pursue do not come at the expense of the relationships in our lives and, most importantly, our relationship with God.
Joshua missed that point, in his assumption that where Eldad and Medad physically stood was more important than where they stood with God. Moses recognized them as true prophets, and set Joshua straight. John missed the point, too, in his assumption that if the man driving out demons in Jesus’ name did not have a visible relationship with Jesus (that is, “he does not follow us”), then he must not have any relationship to him at all. Jesus, looking into his heart, however, recognized that he was with him, not against him.
Let’s make sure that we don’t miss the point. We gather here to worship God because we know that our relationship with Jesus, and our relationship with the Father through his Son, is the foundation of everything else. If our relationship with God is strong, then other relationships in our lives grow stronger. Then we, too, can be prophets for the Lord, performing mighty deeds in his name. And, we help to bring about God’s kingdom right here in our midst. When we come to the end of our lives on earth, however, we have to answer a very important question, “Are you prepared today to enter into the kingdom of God for all eternity?” We can answer with the assurance Jesus gives us today in his own words: “Because you belong to Christ, amen … you will surely not lose your reward.”