26th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B 2024

How nice if all leaders have the spirit of prophesying. At least that was Moses’ wish for his leaders. The inner circle of Moses was concerned that some, notably Medad and Eldad, who were outliers, could even prophesy. The same scenario is repeated in the Gospel. People were using the name of Jesus to exorcise and the disciples were disturbed, after all, they who have been with Him from the outset, may have felt a proprietary claim to the power of Christ.

Interestingly, this outside-the-fold experience proved the power of the name of Jesus. Those trying to relieve others of sickness or to rid them of possession or to raise the dead used the name of Jesus because they were literally invoking God to save. No surprising because Yeshua or Jesus means God saves in Hebrew.

The openness of both Moses and Jesus highlights two connected themes that we can delve into. First, it is the value of hospitality. Second, we might want to give a thought to how hospitality or welcome may breed the deadly sin of jealousy.

Today’s lens, through the phenomenon of diversity, makes hospitality an even more compelling quality. The fact that both Moses and Jesus exhibited a kind of openness to others paves the way for us to rethink, widen and deepen our sense of hospitality. Words associated with the attitude of welcoming are inclusiveness, diversity, acceptance, tolerance etc. These words related to hospitality can make truth sounds rather judgemental and condemnatory.

Why?

Because truth draws boundaries and we have become uncomfortable because boundaries exclude. Remember that the gift of prophesy is directed towards God and the power to exorcise is directed to salvation which means hospitality cannot be anything and everything.

Ironically, the type of hospitality pushed on us is rather “exclusive” in the sense that people can be excluded or cancelled because they fail to meet the criteria defined by the “establishment”. Two examples. First, the entertainment industry. It is packed with an elite glitterati who have set themselves up as our moral guides. In fact, entertainment has become edutainment. We are being talked down to by jet-setters on how to reduce our carbon footprint. Second, the tech illuminati. They corral our knowledge by limiting our search results shaping our views through the content we consume unwittingly.

At present, there is a concerted drive, all in the name of good, to control, shape our thoughts and our lives. On one hand, the basis for hospitality or exclusion should not be based on whether we think alike or not. On the other hand, hospitality cannot be a blanket inclusivity. We necessarily exclude because not everything possible can be permitted. Such a judgement opens the dialogue on the morality of our behaviour or action. Is it permitted to abort a baby in the womb, for example? For some, the argument is already set by those who hold the power to patrol thoughts and behaviours. For others, our behaviour should be guided by God's revelation and an appreciation of creation’s purpose as intended by Him. In that sense, hospitality or inclusiveness is never a value in itself. Instead, it is a value that must serve the will of God and also be directed to salvation. Hospitality while welcoming is also discerning because it is focused on the salvation of souls.

Secondly, the hospitality shown by Jesus or Moses seems to allow the sin of jealousy to rear its ugly head. Were the disciples of both Moses and Jesus jealous because both their leaders were welcoming? Maybe. Much of Church’s division stems from jealousy. Last week, Christ chastised the disciples because they were arguing about who was the greatest amongst them. Even those who were indignant about the two brothers vying for the places of honour beside Jesus could also be acting out of envy. In today’s Gospel, the desire to exclude can be a form of jealousy for how God can choose to work outside of the disciples of Jesus.

The fear of losing out is a compelling drive to be the first, to be at the forefront. For those behind, envy can creep in. But inequality is fact of existence because God created us differently. Imperfection is not a defect to be eradicated. For example, pedigree dogs often have genetic weaknesses because there are no variations in their genes. Even a bad gene that gives rise to Thalassaemia allows for survival of victims of the disease in malaria-infested areas.

Our challenge is an inability to celebrate “inequality”. We desire uniformity forgetting that differences give the opportunity to celebrate God’s goodness and kindness. Two priests who do the same work. One is better than the other. It is a moment to enjoy another person’s success and take comfort that God is great but instead how often have priests engaged in murderous envy, gossiping and talking bad about other priests.

Imagine both Jesus and His cousin, John. The attitude of The Baptist models a discipleship especially for those who are co-workers in the vineyard. Some of us are just sowers. Some of us are just reapers. If we are able to enjoy our ministry, we might be able to give glory to the Lord for the great ministration of our co-workers.

A good leader is someone who knows how to celebrate the wonders of a God who dispenses His grace according to our needs. The Church would be so much more powerful in witnessing if only we learn how to keep the green-eyed dragon at bay. It does not help that advertisements feed and augment our envy. We are constantly made to feel less than others because we do not have the prerequisite paraphernalia of life—a gadget, a car, a house. The more we need to fulfil our wants, the more unhappy and envious we become.

The Gospel today is truly an invitation to enjoy others by admiring rather than by envy. My deepest sense of who I am is not defined by what I have, what I do and how people think of me. A proper or ordered sense of who we are grants us the grace to be discerning in our welcome. The hospitality we are called to is not a free-for-all type. It takes into consideration God’s view of humanity which we can glean from Sacred Scripture and through the long-standing teachings of the Church. If we call ourselves Christians and Catholics, it is good to know that God did not leave us to reinvent the wheel each generation. He gave us His Son who left behind a Church assisted by His Spirit and guided by Scripture and Magisterium. We do have a standard to live up to personally, a measure to welcome others and a principle to engage the world.