Breath of the Spirit Reflection: A God Whose Generosity Unites Us All

September 21, 2021

Maggie Annkel

<div class=OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW3067354>-Breath of the Spirit is our electronic spiritual and liturgical resource for our members and potential members. Nothing can replace your chapter or other faith community but we hope you will find further support here for integrating your spirituality with your sexuality and all the strands of your life. <a href=https://www.dignityusa.org/civicrm/mailing/subscribe>Get Breath of the Spirit scripture reflections in your inbox every week</a>.--It can be so tempting to live in the comfort of our own communities so easy to think that our particular group  ethnic political sexual religious fill-in-blank lives just a bit more in Gods favor than the others. But todays readings remind us that God knows no partiality (Acts 10:34) instead God lavishes the world with a healing uniting spirit. However the readings also remind us that we cannot reject this healing communion without consequences. God invites us into an ever-and-always-outpouring Love a love so transformative that it transcends all human attempts at division. However if it is the pain and isolation of division that we seek we may well find it even if Gods healing spirit remains in our midst all the while. -</div><div class=OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW3067354>September 26 2021: the 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time </div><div class=OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW3067354><div class=OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW3067354><div class=OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW77981608>Numbers 11:25-29 </div><div class=OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW77981608>Psalm 19:8 10 12-13 14 </div><div class=OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW77981608>James 5:1-6 </div><div class=OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW77981608>Mark 9:38-43 45 47-48 </div> A reflection by Tom DeVoyd -</div></div><div class=OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW3067354></div><div class=OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW3067354>In todays first reading the spirit that God had given to Moses was also shared with the seventy elders who had gathered to pray. Some of the spirit also passed to two elders who were back at the community campsite. Joshua who had been an assistant to Moses since youth suggests that the two elders who were not in the tent should not have received the spirit. Moses wonders if Joshua is jealous and goes on to say Would that all Gods people were prophets! Would that Godmight bestow the spirit on them all. Some commentaries say the spirit coming down on people was the reason they spoke in tongues. The spirit speaking through them. This passage can be applied to evangelization our willingness to share how God works in our lives. God so generously sending the spirit invites us to share our witness without worrying about the consequences. Here the long list of martyred saints gives us good example. Throughout the Christian scriptures and the early Church spreading the word has been a key to the growth of Christianity. </div><div class=OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW3067354>In the second reading the author of James laments people receiving riches and luxury in this life. Those riches do not put them closer to God. The author notes that all the gold and silver will be gone in time. Your gold and silver have rusted and their rust will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. This stark image challenges us to trust in God as opposed to our possessions. Later in this passage James speaks to those that have cried out to God because the wealthy and powerful have mistreated them. James assures us that God will answer their prayers. This passage can sound harsh and James is not mincing words. Instead this stark reminder calls us to examine our lives for greed and makes plain how toxic greed can be to our relationship with God and with our brothers and sisters.  </div><div class=OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW3067354>Today gospel starts with Teacher we saw someone casting out demons in your name and we tried to stop them because they not following us. But Jesus does not want these healers to be stopped. He replies Those that are not against us are for us. Jesus calls us to accept even those who are different from us or who are not in our particular group. The Messiah did not come to save a handful of Apostles but to save the world (John 3:16). </div><div class=OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW3067354>The gospel goes on to say that we should get rid of anything that prevents us from following God. If one tries to make people not believe in the teachings it would be better for them to be tossed into the sea. If the stumbling block is a part of you then get rid of it. Again the imagery is stark: better to be maimed than to reject Gods love which the author suggests is as painful as an unquenchable fire. Our own actions can cause this painful separation from God this alienation from Love. The authors of James and Mark want us to realize what is at stake!The first reading and the gospel also share a similar theme. God decides who is called to spread the Word. This divine decision is not based on what others may feel or want but rather on the will of the Spirit whose wisdom is far beyond our own. In both readings certain members of the community were jealous they had wanted to be the ones who were chosen. But their reactions may even go deeper than that. Before seeing how Gods will worked through others they thought they were the special ones. These readings remind us that this type of chosenness is not of God. Instead we are called to work toward a common unity in the spirit. No one is better than anyone else. If you look at society today people so often are placed into categories. Within these categories there is further division. These divisions are not what God asks of us. They are not Gods vision for the world.  Perhaps this week we can notice when jealousy rises within us. We can pay attention to the times we put people into hierarchies either below or above where we believe we are. We can remember that God has not been jealous in pouring out the spirit. Just the opposite. As in todays Scriptures God celebrates whenever the spirit of Love is received. God rejoices whenever healing happens.  </div><div class=OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW3067354>-[caption align=left]<img class=media-element file-default panopoly-image-original img-rounded src=https://www.dignityusa.org/sites/default/files/styles/panopoly_image_original/public/tom.png?itok=RFl-OJ2e alt= data-delta=1>[/caption] Tom DeVoyd is a nurse in long term care and works with resident with Dementia. He is an advocate for his residents and has a Masters Degree in Nursing in Adult Psych/ Mental Health. He is also an advocate for the LGBTQI+ community. Tom currently lives in a small town in NH with his partner of years Phil. He enjoys reflecting on the scriptures and focusing on the world of when the scriptures were written.</div>

Breath of the Spirit Reflection: A God Whose Generosity Unites Us All

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