Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Sept. 27, 2015

A Byzantine style fresco of Moses and the manna in the church of St. Anne in Châtel-Guyon, France.

Today’s readings cover a lot of ground! First we hear an amusing story of the people in the desert, so sick and tired of manna that they want to go back to slavery in Egypt for something good to eat. God tells a despairing Moses to assemble 70 elders to help him carry the spiritual load. Then, two men who had remained in the camp started prophesying without supervision! A young man runs to tell on them, and Moses’ assistant Joshua wants them punished. But Moses says no: He only wishes that all the people could prophesy and share God’s spirit. We’ll hear a remarkably similar story in today’s Gospel. What do you suppose these narratives have in common?

Psalm: Psalm 19:7-14

Today’s Psalm sings out praise and thanksgiving for the glory of God’s teaching. Sweeter than honey and more desirable than gold, God’s laws and commandments enlighten us and keep us on a straight path. We all too easily slip and fall into sin, so we pray that God will keep us from losing our way. The psalm concludes with a familiar prayer that we might all adopt before we speak: “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer.”

Second Reading: James 5:13-20

James’ powerful epistle has told us to care for our neighbors, to protect the weak and to do the work that God has given us to do. Now he concludes his letter with a call to prayer. Are we suffering? Pray! Are we happy? Sing hymns of praise! Are we sick? Ask for prayer! Prayer works. When we bring our brothers and sisters back to God’s way, we save them from death. Amen!

Gospel: Mark 9:38-50

Doesn’t John’s complaint to Jesus sound a lot like Joshua warning Moses? “Hey! People are casting out demons in your name! Make them stop! They’re not authorized!” But Jesus echoes Moses’ advice: Don’t worry about it! Be glad that others are doing God’s work in God’s name. Jesus, perhaps using an old rabbinic tradition of contrasting an act with an extreme alternative, goes on with some pretty scary language about staying on the right path or else. But his point is clear: If people are with us, don’t throw them out.