“If they aren’t opposed to us, they are for us!”

by | 26 September 2024

26th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Mark 9:38-43,45,47-48
“If they aren’t opposed to us, they are for us!”

Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
How do we relate to apparent competitors who may in fact be allies and friends yet to be discovered? This requires a shift of mindset, building on the Gospel of the past week, where the disciples fled from their vulnerability and fear of the Cross into a competition amongst them as to who is the greatest. This tendency to want to protect one’s position, compete, get ahead, take more for oneself and stake out positions in order to guard against the interests of others… it is human, yes, rooted in basic impulses going back to our days as primates. But it is not the attitude of Christ.

Yes, Jesus is willing to challenge, even confront others when necessary, but he does not do so in this competitive, self seeking spirit.

Jesus instead sees those who are outside of his immediate circle but obviously working toward the same ends in his name as allies and friends whom he has not yet met; he even welcomes their collaboration. He scolds the disciples for falling into a suspicious, self protective, territoriality. Confidant in his relationship with his Father, clear about his mission, and free from his own ego, his attitude is open, trusting, not territorial or suspicious. In this spirit, it is natural for him to see potential allies and friends in every stranger, and so, to be the kind of leader who draws people into an ever widening circle, attracted to the same mission.

Yes, a time comes when he faces resistance, opposition, and ultimately rejection, but this is a reflection on the fear, rigidity, and territoriality of the religious authorities, rather on the wisdom and openness of Jesus.

In our Church and wider society today, these divergent attitudes are apparent in our tendencies to oppose progressive and conservative ideas, in the ways that communities welcome strangers and those who are marginalized or close themselves off to protect their identity and interests. Are these the only options: an unquestioningly open approach or one that is closed and self-protective? This binary way of thinking is not Jesus’s way of thinking. He always begins by giving people the benefit of the doubt, presuming their good intentions until proved otherwise; at which point, he takes them for who they are and proceeds accordingly. He also gives people second chances, and third, and so forth. This tendency toward trust generates goodwill, a spirit of reciprocity, and even better, of mutuality. Mutuality is a quality of relationship characterized by freedom and free choice, rather than obligation. And when we have built up such mutual trust, we have the conditions for effective, interdependent collaboration, i.e., teamwork.

As leaders, especially when we are stressed or not well resourced with rest, time for prayer and reflection, it is easy to lapse into reactive patterns of territoriality, suspicion, and distrust. So we have to take personal responsibility for maintaining the interior spiritual conditions that help us show up with patience and trust in reserve. And unlike the disciples, we want to be cautious about getting hooked by attachments or over-identifications that limit our freedom in first offering the benefit of the doubt to others, or which lead us into patterns of self-justification, protectiveness, or competition.

How do we imitate Jesus by deepening our own groundedness in relationship with God and his love? How do we learn to differentiate our mission from our identity enough that we are not so easily hooked by criticism or resistance? And in our organizations, how do we cultivate cultures of trust, mutual respect, and good will? In our experience, the need to move in this direction is as important in many Church contexts as it is in secular ones. There can be no synodality without this culture of mutual trust and openness to the diverse ways we serve our shared mission.

As we enter into the Synod this weekend, we count on your prayers and look forward to walking with you on the way…

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