Wednesday of the Seventh
Week in Ordinary Time
(James 4:13-17; Mark 9:38-40)
A Catholic novelist recently wrote of her conversion
experience. She said that she grew up
Episcopalian but without firm direction.
She went to an Ivy League School where she succumbed to sexual
temptations. Undergoing an intellectual
conversion, she refrained from premarital sex for a while. She then fell back into serious sin and
experienced what she calls “a baffling illness.” She was saved from the dire situation by a charismatic
healer named Grace. The novelist
assisted Grace’s mission activities until she became a Catholic. The story is similar to what today’s gospel
conveys.
The passage resembles what probably happened many times
in the early Church as it does today. Preachers
who are not connected to apostolic churches minister in the name of Jesus. The apostolic churches had to ask themselves
if the upstarts should be tolerated.
This is the question that his disciples ask Jesus. His answer is unequivocal: “’Do not prevent
them.’” They may not have all the seven
sacraments or entirely correct teaching.
But they are still preforming works of genuine love.
It is sometimes difficult for Catholics to tolerate other
Christian communities. We see them as
intellectually and liturgically wanting.
Moreover, sometimes they ridicule the Catholic Church with calumnies and
misinformation. But many of their adherents
probably love Jesus as much as we. The
situation calls for forbearance. Perhaps
a dialogue with the other church may eliminate the undue criticism. Common service projects and even mutual
prayer services may change attitudes.
Even if they are against us at first, they may become working allies.
