“Would that the Lord might bestow his spirit on them all!” In our first reading today, we heard Joshua, Moses’ aide who would eventually succeed him, protest to Moses that Eldad and Medad were not present when the Spirit of God came and rested upon the rest of the elders, so they should not be prophesying. Pay attention to Moses’ response: “Would that all the people of the LORD were prophets! Would that the Lord might bestow his spirit on them all!”
And, in our Gospel, we heard John, the beloved disciple, protest to Jesus that someone not in their company was using the power of his name to drive out demons. Jesus responds in much the same way as Moses did: “Do not prevent him. …Whoever is not against us is for us,” he tells John.
At our baptism, right after we have been washed of our sins and given new life in Christ through the water poured over our forehead, we are anointed with sacred oil and hear this very important instruction: “Almighty God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, has freed you from sin, given you new birth by water and the Holy Spirit, and joined you to his people. He now anoints you with the Chrism of salvation, so that you may remain members of Christ, Priest, Prophet and King, unto eternal life.” Yes, as baptized members of the Church, we are all given the power to prophesy and drive out demons as we all strive to get to heaven, avoiding the fires of Gehenna. We are called to prophesy – that is, to speak for God – and overcome the power of the devil so that everyone around us is made ever more aware of God’s kingdom in our midst and the fullness of God’s kingdom soon to come for all of God’s faithful. Think about it. Every time you patiently teach your daughter – for the umpteenth time – to play nicely with her younger brother, you are speaking for God and bringing a taste of his kingdom of love into your home. Every time you challenge your colleague at work to be honest in dealing with a client, you are speaking for God and bringing a foretaste of his kingdom where those who have fed the hungry – rather than taken advantage of them – are welcomed. Notice that Jesus uses this occasion in today’s Gospel account to teach the importance of being generous – sharing a cup of water with someone in need – and avoiding sin as we all prepare for the end of our lives and the end of time. We don’t want to end up in Gehenna. Remember, in our Lord’s time, Gehenna was the name for a huge garbage dump outside of Jerusalem where trash was always burning; it spoke 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.
The Letter of St. 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.
Of course, God invites us enjoy the many material blessings he showers on us. But, having a close, loving relationship with God, our spouse, our children, parents and neighbors is more important. 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, most importantly our relationship with God and our neighbor, especially the one in need.
So many of you in our parish are well aware of your baptismal calling and are speaking for God and caring for those in need both in your homes and as you teach our children in our school and PREP and CYO, or through your involvement in prophetic ministry through Evangelization, Walking with Purpose, Knights of Columbus, Mothers of Young Children, HOPE, Close Knit Community and our St. Martin de Porres outreach, and so many other programs and initiatives both here in our parish, throughout the archdiocese and, indeed, worldwide. I commend you for your dedication to these various ways in which God’s kingdom is brought into our midst right here in our parish and around the world.
We gather here to worship God because we know that our relationship with Jesus, and our relationship with the Father through his Son in the power of the Holy Spirit is the foundation of everything else in our lives. That relationship began at our baptism, where we were given a share in Christ’s mission as priest, prophet and king. 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 when we come to the end of our lives on earth and we have to answer the question, “Are you prepared today to enter into the kingdom of God?” 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.”