Avoiding Scandal At All Costs

Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Course 2024

When we think of the man Moses, who was chosen by the Lord to lead the Hebrew people out of Egyptian slavery, we probably also remember that he received the Law from God on Mt. Sinai. We may also recall his speech to God’s people at the end of the Book of Deuteronomy, where he speaks blessings on those who keep the Law and curses on the opposite folks. But today we read in the Book of Numbers that he wanted all the people to have the spirit that had influenced him, to pray ecstatically and prophesy. Would the real Moses please stand up?

Charismatic vs legalistic—there seems to be a conflict between these two understandings of how God wants humans to act and interact. We associate charismatic people with praying in tongues, preaching on streetcorners, imposing hands on the sick for healing—all the gifts listed by St. Paul in some of his letters. We associate following the law with a kind of strait-laced legalism like that practiced by the Pharisees in Jesus’s time. But how did God give Moses the law? All the Scriptures are inspired by God, specifically by the Holy Spirit speaking through the human author. Moses was full of the Spirit of God when he wrote down the ten commandments.

And how does God enable us to obey the Law? He gives us what is called “actual” grace, which is the special grace given to inspire us to do good and avoid evil, acting out of love even beyond the ten commandments of Exodus. Thus every Law is full of the Holy Spirit’s power, both in enactment and in obedience. There is no conflict between Spirit and Law. They are intimately connected in God’s plan.

Jesus gives us a new insight into that relationship in today’s story from Mark’s Gospel. The apostle John reported to Jesus that some fellow was using the name of Jesus as he prayed to cast out a demon. Remember that in the ancient Middle East, the name of any god was a strong stand-in for the person of the god. That helps us understand the Second of the Ten Commandments, forbidding us to misuse the name YHWH. That reminds us to give divine respect to the name of Jesus, and to never use it in casual conversation.

While we are on the topic of misusing God’s name, let’s talk about scandal. The Greek word scandalum means “stumbling block.” If we do something evil, or say something we shouldn’t, and an innocent person, called “little one” in Christ’s words, hears or sees us, that is scandalous. It’s scandalous even if that other person does not imitate us. Why? Our doing it gives bad example to others, making an inappropriate action appear to be good. Be clear in your minds what the sin of scandal is and avoid it like any other thing that can be fatal to your spiritual life. Remember that the Law of Christ tells us to act with love, sacrificial love, toward everyone, friend or foe, and that Law is perfect, refreshing the soul, and certain, making simple folks wise.

This leads us to consider our little passage from the letter of James, which seems like a meditation on the Beatitudes. Jesus blesses those who are poor in spirit. James seems to be cursing those who are rich because of injustices they perpetrated. In fact, the curse even corrodes their gold and silver, which require special chemical acids to do! Their sins have cried out to God for vengeance, just like abortion, which murders the innocent. These words should impact all of us, not just multi-millionaires. Do we make money through fraud? Do we hoard up riches toward our own condemnation?