Embracing the different
Reflection
Today we celebrate the memorial of St. Polycarp, bishop and martyr.
John said to Jesus,
“Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name,
and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow us.”
Jesus replied, “Do not prevent him.
There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name
who can at the same time speak ill of me.
For whoever is not against us is for us.”
Today we celebrate the memorial of St. Polycarp, bishop and martyr.
St. Polycarp was a disciple of St. John the apostle and a friend of St. Ignatius of Antioch. He religiously led the faithful in embracing the right doctrine and sacrificed himself so that the faithful in Smyrna would avoid persecution.
It is said that he was burned on the stake but the fire would not harm him so he was stabbed with a dagger. Before he died he said: Father, I bless you for you have made me worthy of the day and the hour.
His martyrdom is recorded in the Acts of his martyrdom, which is the earliest preserved, fully reliable account of a Christian martyr's death. He was martyred in 155.
The life of St. Polycarp reminds us how we should live our lives as Christians; how self-sacrifice defines our being followers of Christ, and this self-sacrifice is brought about by our love for God, by the unconditional love that we experience from God.
In our first reading (James 4:13-17), St. James reminds us that our life is for God, that we live for God and because of this we rely on God, not on our own wisdom which is limited, not on our own plans which is imperfect.
To fully give ourselves to God means to fully depend on God, to let our plans be shaped by His plan which he has modeled for us in His son, our Lord Jesus Christ - that we should live our lives for others and not just for ourselves; that our lives should be defined by His love for us; that we become bearers of His love, bearing Christ within us that we may be able to bring Him to others.
And that is what our psalmist today is also telling us (Psalm 49:2-3, 6-7, 8-10, 11). While the world boasts of earthly riches, of earthly success; while the world measures success based on what one owns or what one has accomplished, all these could not bring us salvation, all these could not lead us to kaginhawahan, for it is only through Christ that we will experience salvation.
The example that Christ showed us is the way that we should live out our lives, and that is to embrace those who are in the margins, even those who are different from us, or, as pointed out in our Gospel reading, those who are not with us.
In our Gospel reading (Mark 9:38-40), we hear John complain to Jesus how some people, who did not belong to their group, was using the name of Jesus, the authority of Jesus, to drive out demons. How dare they, he must have said.
Now, this is very ironic, because these people are not followers of Christ, as John pointed out, yet they are able to drive out demons and perhaps are getting many people to follow them otherwise it won't reach the attention of Jesus' apostles. In contrast, the apostles of Christ was not able to drive out the demon that causes epileptic attacks to a boy because of their lack of faith (Mark 9:14-29).
We can only but assume that John, perhaps, could be jealous and he wanted Jesus to stop the man. Instead he received a different reply: Whoever is not against us is for us.
Truly, for how could this man afford to destroy the reputation of Christ, when his reputation also depended on it. And for the man to be able to drive out demons, in the name of Christ, must mean that he truly has so much faith in the message of Christ, one way or the other.
And that is why, as Pope Francis pointed out in his Angelus reflection of September 26, 2021, "Instead of dividing people into good and bad, we are all called to be vigilant over our own hearts, lest we succumb to evil and bring scandal to others."
So, instead of feeling exclusive, that we are the only ones that is correct and true, that we are the chosen ones, the true disciples of Christ, let us try to open our hearts to others believing that they too possess a treasure, a gift from God, and together, let us bring to fulfillment God's plan of reconciling the world to himself.
It is said that he was burned on the stake but the fire would not harm him so he was stabbed with a dagger. Before he died he said: Father, I bless you for you have made me worthy of the day and the hour.
His martyrdom is recorded in the Acts of his martyrdom, which is the earliest preserved, fully reliable account of a Christian martyr's death. He was martyred in 155.
The life of St. Polycarp reminds us how we should live our lives as Christians; how self-sacrifice defines our being followers of Christ, and this self-sacrifice is brought about by our love for God, by the unconditional love that we experience from God.
In our first reading (James 4:13-17), St. James reminds us that our life is for God, that we live for God and because of this we rely on God, not on our own wisdom which is limited, not on our own plans which is imperfect.
To fully give ourselves to God means to fully depend on God, to let our plans be shaped by His plan which he has modeled for us in His son, our Lord Jesus Christ - that we should live our lives for others and not just for ourselves; that our lives should be defined by His love for us; that we become bearers of His love, bearing Christ within us that we may be able to bring Him to others.
And that is what our psalmist today is also telling us (Psalm 49:2-3, 6-7, 8-10, 11). While the world boasts of earthly riches, of earthly success; while the world measures success based on what one owns or what one has accomplished, all these could not bring us salvation, all these could not lead us to kaginhawahan, for it is only through Christ that we will experience salvation.
The example that Christ showed us is the way that we should live out our lives, and that is to embrace those who are in the margins, even those who are different from us, or, as pointed out in our Gospel reading, those who are not with us.
In our Gospel reading (Mark 9:38-40), we hear John complain to Jesus how some people, who did not belong to their group, was using the name of Jesus, the authority of Jesus, to drive out demons. How dare they, he must have said.
Now, this is very ironic, because these people are not followers of Christ, as John pointed out, yet they are able to drive out demons and perhaps are getting many people to follow them otherwise it won't reach the attention of Jesus' apostles. In contrast, the apostles of Christ was not able to drive out the demon that causes epileptic attacks to a boy because of their lack of faith (Mark 9:14-29).
We can only but assume that John, perhaps, could be jealous and he wanted Jesus to stop the man. Instead he received a different reply: Whoever is not against us is for us.
Truly, for how could this man afford to destroy the reputation of Christ, when his reputation also depended on it. And for the man to be able to drive out demons, in the name of Christ, must mean that he truly has so much faith in the message of Christ, one way or the other.
And that is why, as Pope Francis pointed out in his Angelus reflection of September 26, 2021, "Instead of dividing people into good and bad, we are all called to be vigilant over our own hearts, lest we succumb to evil and bring scandal to others."
So, instead of feeling exclusive, that we are the only ones that is correct and true, that we are the chosen ones, the true disciples of Christ, let us try to open our hearts to others believing that they too possess a treasure, a gift from God, and together, let us bring to fulfillment God's plan of reconciling the world to himself.
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