WORKING AGAINST OR FOR JESUS CHRIST
WEDNESDAY, SEVENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
James 4:13-17; Ps 49:2-3,6-11; Mk 9:38-40
Anyone who is not against us is for
us
The incident reported by John to
Jesus Christ in the gospel opens our eyes to God's dealings
with us. Selfish desires and interests usually cloud our judgment of issues and
make us discriminate against others. As St. James made us understand in yesterday's reading,
our selfish interests prevent us from receiving what we ask in prayer because
we usually ask to indulge ourselves. God seeks and desires the salvation of
everyone he has made, not just for the good of a selected few. This is
because God is the Father of all, who gave us his only Begotten Son to be our
salvation. If God shows favour to anyone or a selected group, it is that they
may become instruments of his salvation to others. This understanding is the
background of our Lord’s response to John’s report
to him. “John said to Jesus, ‘Master, we saw a man who is not one of us casting
out devils in your name; and because he was not one of us we tried to stop him.’ But
Jesus said, ‘You must not stop him: no one who works a miracle in
my name is likely to speak evil of me.” There are many things contained in this statement of
our Lord.
The first thing we can garner from this response of our Lord is that
the name of Jesus is given to all for their salvation. We could think of
the name of Jesus as a heavenly device or power that anyone can wield or
activate with faith. Since the exercise of faith is
not dependent on our sinlessness or righteousness, it follows that the
name of Jesus is available to all to use by faith for their salvation or that
of others. Correlating this conclusion with yesterday’s understanding
of the prerequisite for our prayers to be answered; we come to understand
that when we use the name of Jesus according to the will of the Father, we
obtain what we ask of the Father. Since the name of Jesus Christ is given for
our freedom from evil and sin, the one who uses it to cast out devils was in
sync with the will of the Father in that aspect. The gift of the name of Jesus,
and every other charismatic gift of the Holy Spirit, can be used for selfish
ends. The gifts will serve their purpose, but the person using them for selfish
ends will not achieve salvation. Hence, Jesus warns that he will denounce those
who use his name to cast out devils for their purposes.
The second thing is that the
use of the name of Jesus to cast
out devils does not automatically translate to salvation for the person
involved. The same applies to all the charismatic gifts; their employment in
our different ministries does not guarantee salvation for the one using them.
But their usage ought to bring people into the Church and nearer to
God. The one with the gifts may make his plan for building up his business
empire while deceiving people that he is working for God. Hence, in using the
name of Jesus Christ, and every charismatic gift, we must desire to
do the will of the Father and not our own will. Jesus admonished his disciples
not to stop the one using his name because his usage of the name of Jesus with
faith would pave the way for his conversion to Jesus Christ. “No
one who works a miracle in my name is likely to speak evil of me.” That
people make their plans for their desires and profits very often is given by
James in the first reading: “Today or tomorrow, we are off to this or that town;
we are going to spend a year there, trading, and make some money.’” This
statement is based on the
faith a person has in the present
life, which is a gift from the Father, just as the name of Jesus. Both life and the name of Jesus are to be used
to fulfill the will of the Father. To be with Jesus Christ is to be
animated with the same desire and Spirit for the salvation of others.
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