Inclusive Grace

September 29, 2024 – 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/092924.cfm)

This Sunday we celebrate the National Seafarers & Migrant Sunday. This is not only to recognize the contribution of the OFW & Migrant families to the betterment of our quality of life here at home but also their struggles of living life afar from their loved ones in long-distance relationship, and their steadfast Christian faith to live & share Jesus to others at home & abroad.

My father & elder brother are Seafarers. I have also lived as Migrant student & missionary abroad. I know & have experienced how to live life in distance & away from my families, friends & loved ones.

For us who have live & work abroad & also who have been raised in a long-distance relationship family, living & giving witness to our Christian faith is particularly challenging. Much that we have to adjust & manage with the unusual circumstances & culture we are in – afar from our comfort zones & support groups in a totally in a different foreign culture & lifestyles, OFW families have also to contend with faith & church life.

Here at home, we have to do with going to Sunday Eucharist with less & absence of loved ones. And more challenging, when we find ourselves alone abroad in a non-Christian countries. And even much more challenging, when we are in a mostly Christian nation, but we cannot fully relate because they tend to think that they are the only Christians around & their version of Christianity is & should be only observed by all. In other words, we may find ourselves with exclusive, non-welcoming & critical Catholic church abroad.

Sometimes it is good to examine and ask ourselves: “What are the things that we claim as being rightly ours and yet are not truly ours?” This may not only be material possessions but could also be our status in society we use to lord over others,.. titles we use for personal advantages, … our prejudices and biases we harbored towards others,… or our self-righteous behaviors & beliefs that makes us feel morally better, privilege or important than others. We sometimes claim these privileges – which do not really belong to us, though we come to think and believe that they are only ours to have. Worse, we sometimes claim that we are the rightful owners of Christian life & faith that we impose on others should practice & observed.

Here in our first reading, we heard Joshua complaining to Moses for letting two elders who were absent during the meeting, receive the spirit of prophecy. Joshua was thinking that only those elders who attended the meeting are the rightful recipients of the spirit of prophecy.

A similar story here is depicted in our gospel today. John reported to Jesus: “Master, we saw a man who is not one of us casting our devils in your name; and because he was not one of us we tried to stop him.” Meaning, John and other disciples tried to exclude a non-member from exercising the ministry of healing and exorcism in the name of Jesus. Just like Joshua, the apostles believed that they are exclusively the privilege persons to invoke the name of the Lord.

But as we all know; Jesus did not stop the estranged but effective exorcist. Like Moses, Jesus was not concerned about how the exorcist got the spirit of exorcism but was simply glad he had it. Clearly, Jesus perceived the situation differently. He said, “If anyone who is not against us is for us”. In other words, the Kingdom of God is beyond and wider than our human standards. Salvation is non-exclusive.

It is God’s gift for all, not only for privileged few. Consequently, God’s blessings for us are Sharewares – meant to be shared, and not to be kept selfishly & owned exclusively. He challenged us instead to be open-minded to others, to “Let God’s spirit blows where it will” since God rewards those who show even the smallest courtesies to those who teach and share in Jesus’ name.

On the contrary, he warned the disciples then & us now against our tendency to be selective, downgrading, arrogant, jealous, and intolerant of one another – as if we have the monopoly of the gift of God’s graces & spirit, and the exclusive rightful owner of what we have, or exclusive person to invoke Jesus name. Instead of selfishly thinking for ourselves & of ourselves, he challenged us to be what we claim to be: Christians. That is, If we claim to be Christians – a follower of Christ let us also be Christians in our attitude and behavior in our discipleship and relationship with one another & others.

Since we call ourselves as Christians, we must also be Christ-like: tolerant open-minded, creative, non-exclusive at the same time determined and non-compromising in our faith in God’s salvation for all humanity through Jesus’ name. In other words, it is not for us to forbid and impose limitations on God’s capacity & ways. It is not for us to program God’s own Plans & Ways for all which are far way better than our human standards and ways. Jesus offers us then inclusive grace than exclusive privileges.

Somehow our readings today are wake-up calls for us to realize not only our self-centered ways and attitudes in life demand our conversion & transformation.  Somehow we are challenge to do away our exclusive global-thinking that we don’t mind the locals, and to resist our mere mainstream mentality that we suspect alternatives.  

Most of all, that even we are alone on our own abroad, and incomplete family here at home, w e challenge to cooperate and share with one another God’s non-exclusive all-embracing intervention, protection, salvation, healing, and blessings that we do pray & really need at these challenging life, especially in a long-distance relationships.

May Our Father & His Will be always upon Us, Lord. Whatever & however our gifts, talents, limits & blessings we have now may be, allow us to contribute & cooperate with Your plans of saving us now and always. Amen.