Mk. 9:38-43, 45, 47-48
There is an interesting narration about the desert father, Abba John the dwarf. Once, he prayed to take away all passions from him so that he could be freed from all temptations and lead a peaceful life. He consulted an old monk and told him: “I find myself in peace without an enemy of temptations.” But the old monk told him: “Go, beseech God to stir up warfare so that you regain the affliction and humility that you used to have, for it is by warfare that the soul makes progress.” The advice of an old monk enlightened him, and he followed the advice. Next, when temptations came, he did not pray to take them away; instead, he prayed: “Lord, give me strength to fight.”
Christian witness is a constant battle against our inclination to sin and move away from the love of God. Is it so difficult to lead a Christian life? In our time, people tend to think that it is a tedious task to be a Christian, but in reality, we need to be aware that our Christian vocational journey and the process of maturing into the person of Christ as his disciples is graced by our Abba. Therefore, God’s grace is always available for us to remain as a faithful witness of Christ. However, this grace should be nurtured by our personal effort. In today’s gospel, we see Jesus giving a few practical suggestions to facilitate this. First and foremost, our lives should not cause scandal to others. It can happen to us when we are fully absorbed by our personal gain alone and less concerned about others. In such a mental state, we tend to make use of people by forcing them to compromise on their convictions or go against their value system. We could perceive this danger in all the walks of life today. Let us analyse the evil of corruption. At times, individuals force their beneficiaries to give them extra benefits as though it is a commonly accepted social custom. Similarly, we ourselves impose bribes on others so that we may be granted certain benefits. We see the same attitude in the medical field wherein individuals are forced to commit certain medical interventions against their value system. Jesus clearly warns that our way of life should not cause scandal for others to stumble. If we do so, we will be deprived of eternal happiness.
The next stage is analysing our own inclination to sin. Jesus never condemned any sinners, but he never compromised with sin. Jesus clearly tells them that a follower of him can’t lead a mediocre life such as professing him with lips and living a life contrary to that. Jesus implemented strict measures to get rid of this mediocrity. Of course, we should not be carried away by the literal meaning of these verses. Jesus instructs them to cut away the organ that causes them to sin. The intention of Jesus is that we need to value the happiness of eternal life more than the little pleasures that we gain by satisfying our senses.
When God created everything, he found it to be good. Therefore, the beauty that is imprinted on every being is divine. We have every right to enjoy this beauty, but it should ultimately lead us back to the Creator who bestowed it on his creatures. At the outset, people may think Christianity is all about dos and don’ts; a struggle with the reality of sin and centred on the problem of guilt. This view on Christianity is absolutely wrong and pessimistic. Christianity is all about happiness and life in all its abundance, but just like an athlete who takes various measures to achieve his/her final goal, such as avoiding junk food, following strict practises, etc., we need to reorient our lives to lead an authentic Christian witness. However, it is not running away from the world into the wilderness. When we try to understand today’s gospel passage in its literal sense, we may cut ourselves off completely from the concrete realities of life to avoid failure. We must strive for Christian perfection by constantly fighting the inclination to sin and avoiding potential pits of sin. Anyhow, in spite of our best efforts, we fall, it becomes an opportunity to experience God’s grace and grow in our process of maturation into the person of Christ. As we continue our Christian witness, let us help each other to grow by being a nurturing presence and avoiding the possibility of causing scandals. Nonetheless, if we fail, we must be compassionate to ourselves and our fellow believers.