Cleanse me from my unknown faults! Reflections on the readings for the 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time Cycle B

“The LORD came down in the cloud and spoke to Moses. Taking some of the spirit that was on Moses, the LORD bestowed it on the seventy elders ...”

Receive the Holy Spirit. Jesus said this several times to the apostles. Without actually saying these words, Jesus gave them some of the Spirit’s power when he sent them on their preaching mission: “He summoned the Twelve and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal [the sick]” (Luke 9:1-2). After this, reminiscent of the first reading, he sends out seventy-two (some translations say seventy) in a similar fashion (Luke 10:1-3).

In the first reading two elders who were left in the camp also received the Spirit and prophesied (preached) like the rest, much to the chagrin of Joshua. Moses accuses Joshua of jealousy. Moses rebukes him. Recall last week’s readings which cautioned against jealousy, noting that it brings disorder “and every foul practice.” It was jealousy that also contributed to the persecution of the “just one” in last week’s reading from Wisdom, which prefigured Jesus’s coming death and resurrection about which he was telling his followers.

Joshua probably did not think he was acting out of jealousy, like John’s complaint in the gospel reading. The responsorial reflects this concern about our hidden selves that we should all have when the psalmist says, “Cleanse me from my unknown faults!” True believers recognize that God’s laws and guidelines are for our own good. They are “true, all of them just.” But even though we try, we sometimes fail in our efforts to keep them. We know we cannot do it on our own and so we ask for God’s help. “From wanton sin especially, restrain your servant; let it not rule over me. Then shall I be blameless and innocent of serious sin.” The psalmist is asking to be freed from the slavery of sin. Recall from John’s gospel, “Jesus answered them, ‘Amen, amen, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin.’” (John 8:34)

With God’s help we recognize that following God’s law actually brings joy. Various research polls and surveys repeatedly show that those who believe in God and try to follow religious teachings are happier, more stable, and more engaged in life in general. As the psalmist says, “The precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart.”

As we reach the end of this year’s examination of the letter of James, he tells the rich they have been on the wrong track. This reminds me of the passage in Chapter 6 of Matthew’s gospel: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal. But store up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.” (Matthew 6:19-21). Obviously, James is telling these folks that their hearts have been in the wrong place. James notes that the cries of their workers whose wages were withheld have been heard by the Lord. (See also Abel’s blood cried out to God – Gen 4:10 and withholding wages – Deut. 24:15.) James also accuses them of murdering the righteous one who offered no resistance, an allusion to the Lamb of God. In this way James is warning the rich that they have put themselves ahead of others, thus endangering their souls such that they will “weep and wail over your [their] impending miseries.”

The gospel returns to the issue of jealousy, with John complaining about others who were casting out demons in Jesus’s name. John is one of the sons of Zebedee along with James. Matthew notes that their mother asked Jesus that he command that one of them sit at his right hand in the kingdom (Matt. 20:20-21). And last week’s gospel noted several of the apostles were arguing over who was the greatest. Could John and James have been part of that discussion? Like Moses in the first reading, Jesus has no problem with others acting in his name. We see more about the power of Jesus’s name in Acts of the Apostles (Acts 3:6, 16; 16:19; et al.).

Jesus returns to the issue of sin and hell. He goes beyond individual sin and includes complicity in the sins of others, especially causing others to sin. The Catechism addresses this when it discusses cooperation with sin. Article 1868 notes that “we have a responsibility for the sins committed by others when we cooperate in them:

·      By participating directly and voluntarily in them;
·      By ordering, advising, praising, or approving them;
·      By not disclosing or not hindering them when we have an obligation to do so;
·      By protecting evil-doers.”

Critical food for thought as early voting has begun in many states.

Jesus tells us that avoiding sin (even by extreme measures) may allow you to enter the kingdom of heaven rather than “to be thrown into Gehenna, where 'their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.'" There are those who do not want to believe in hell or judgment, but Jesus was not shy about telling people about it, to the point of being graphic about the unquenchable fire and its distinction from heaven. Nor is it a new teaching about causing others to sin. 

“The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all who cause others to sin and all evildoers. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears ought to hear.” (Matthew 13:41-43, emphasis added)

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea, which collects fish of every kind. When it is full they haul it ashore and sit down to put what is good into buckets. What is bad they throw away. Thus it will be at the end of the age. The angels will go out and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.” (Matthew 13:47-50)

“Very few people believe in the devil these days, which suits the devil very well He is always helping to circulate the news of his own death. The essence of God is existence, and he defines himself as: ‘I am who am.’ The essence of the devil is the lie, and he defines himself as, ‘I am who am not.’ Satan has very little trouble with those who do not believe in him; they are already on his side.” (Fulton J. Sheen, The Life of Christ)