Fr. Denny's Reflections

In this weekend’s gospel some Pharisees ask Jesus whether it is permitted to divorce one’s wife, saying that “Moses permitted a husband to write a bill of divorce and dismiss her.” In actuality Moses, in Deuteronomy 24:1, was setting a limit on divorce, demanding justifiable reasons for a practice that was practiced in effect at the whim of a husband. Women had few legal rights and were considered property being transferred at the wedding from father to husband, the background for the father, without the mother, walking his daughter down the aisle and “giving her away” (an expression not used in Catholic weddings). Technically, a Jewish man was required to provide proof of something “indecent.” In Jesus’ time, rabbis differed in their interpretation of what qualified as “indecent,” some allowing almost anything including having lost her youthful beauty, prompting the question here to be expanded in Matthew 19:3, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason whatever?” In Malachi 2:15-16 we read: “You must safeguard life that is your own and not break faith with the wife of your youth. For I hate divorce, says the Lord the God of Israel.” Sometimes people only see what they want to see in God’s word and ignore the rest.

For Jesus, marriage is a commitment of permanence and mutuality reflecting our relationship of God with the church as his bride, an image St. Paul employed in his letter to the Ephesians (5:25) telling husbands to “love your wives as Christ loved the church.”

In last week’s gospel (Mark 9:30-37) the disciples, having argued over which of them was most importance, received a lesson in humility from Jesus. Such personal ambition and pride breaks down the unity to which we are called to the detriment of the mission entrusted to us. What about “team pride” however? In today’s gospel John the disciple has seen someone casting out spirits in Jesus’ name and tried to prevent him because he wasn’t a member of their group. We can picture the other disciples, in true team spirit, nodding their heads in unison. The desire for status and authority he and the other disciples each wanted for themselves becomes a desire for special status for the group at least, exclusive rights to the use of Jesus’ name and power. Similarly, in our first reading, Joshua complains to Moses that a couple men who weren’t part of the group were prophesying, “My Lord, stop them!” Moses, as Jesus with the disciples, was not supportive of their desire for exclusive authority but, rather, wishing everyone would be a prophetic voice, sharing the message of God with others.

In our day and age, we might consider our attitude toward other religions and Christian denominations and their members. Since the Second Vatican Council, the Catholic Church has promoted the ecumenical movement between denominations and our popes have met and shared prayer with leaders of non-Christian religions. “Team pride” is good as long as it does not translate into a desire for exclusivity or judgment of others.

On the road returning to their headquarters at Peter’s home in Capernaum, the disciples were arguing about which of them was the most important, revealing that they all believed Jesus to be establishing an earthly kingdom in which they all wanted top positions of authority. Their silence when Jesus calls them on it indicates that it had been more than just a friendly discussion. Up until Jesus’ death on the cross they still believed that such was what they had signed up for and failed to understand the true nature of his mission. The second reading from James says, “where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every foul practice.” Given that the seeds of jealousy and selfishness were so present in the very men Jesus had selected to be the foundation of the church, it is understandable that even the best of us today need to be on guard lest our motives and actions be corrupted by such influences. A neighbor boy apparently followed the disciples into Peter’s house and was commended by Jesus as an example for the disciples. He was free of ambition and self-importance. He simply loved to hang around when Jesus was present, making him a good example for all of us to follow as well.

“Who do people say that I am?” and “Who do YOU say that I am?” Our scripture professor at St. Paul Seminary commented that these two questions posed by Jesus in today’s gospel are the most important questions in the entire bible. The response to the first reflects what a person has learned from theological study, scripture reading, and the opinion and testimony of other people. The response to the second indicates what that person, after reflecting and perhaps wrestling with what he or she has been told by others, now believes in his or her mind and heart.  How would you answer these two questions?

When Peter professed that Jesus was the Christ, the Messiah, his understanding of what that meant was formed by popular hopes in a worldly leader who would bring usher in a new age of prominence and prosperity for the Jewish people.  When Jesus went on to speak of his suffering and death, Peter, overconfident in having correctly identified Jesus as the Christ, tries to correct and assure Jesus not to even consider such things.  For trusting in his human logic rather than seeking guidance from God, Peter is called a Satan, indicating that his words had been an actual temptation for Jesus. How often do we, like Peter, evaluate situations by human or worldly standards rather than those of God?

In the gospel Jesus goes into the region of the Decapolis, a confederation of ten cities located to the east of the Sea of Galilee and Jordan River. On a previous visit to the region, Jesus had cast an evil spirit out of a man into a herd of pigs (Mark 5:1-20). The fellow “went off and began to proclaim in the Decapolis what Jesus had done for him.” It may have been his witness which motivated the people in today’s gospel bring a deaf-mute man to Jesus.

Jesus stuck his fingers in the man’s ears, put his spittle on the man’s tongue, looked heavenward, groaned and shouted. Jesus had the power to heal with his word alone, but openness in faith on the part of the one in need was necessary for that healing to take effect. Recall that Jesus could not heal many people in his hometown of Nazareth due to their lack of faith, and that Jesus frequently told those he had healed, “Go in peace, your faith has saved you.” The rather strange actions Jesus performed were apparently necessary for the deaf-mute to believe Jesus knew what he was doing and could really heal him.