Monday of Week 7 in Ordinary Time (Year I)
Ecclesiasticus 1:1-10 | Psalm 92(93):1-2,5 | Mark 9:14-29
A man answered [Jesus] from the crowd, ‘Master, I have brought my son to you; there is a spirit of dumbness in him, and when it takes hold of him it throws him to the ground, and he foams at the mouth and grinds his teeth and goes rigid. And I asked your disciples to cast it out and they were unable to.’
[…] When [Jesus] had gone indoors his disciples asked him privately, ‘Why were we unable to cast it out?’ ‘This is the kind’ he answered ‘that can only be driven out by prayer.’ (Mark 9:17-18,28-29)
Yesterday, as I boarded the bus home from church, and made my way to the back, I beheld a young man in T-shirt and shorts, slouching in his seat, staring into space, with his sandaled feet propped up on the seat opposite him.
I took the seat across the aisle from him, thinking, “What an uncivil person!” I also noticed the middle-aged man sitting across from him, peering intently at the “offensive” young man. “I guess someone else noticed too!”
At the next stop, the middle-aged man stood up, reached over…and grabbed the young man by the arm, pulling him to his feet. I watched in amazement as the elder shepherded the younger towards the exit door, and I suddenly realized that I was thinking unkind thoughts about an intellectually disabled person, not a deliberate lout as I’d assumed.
I had a bitter taste in my mouth for the next few minutes.
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I’ve noticed a growing synchronicity between each day’s scripture, and my earthly experiences from the day before. It’s probably a case of the Good News shaping my reaction to events around me, and making me more aware of my surroundings.
Anyway, you can clearly see how today’s gospel resonated with my unfortunate encounter, except the “spirit” to be cast out of me is my tendency to jump to conclusions on limited data.
Clearly, all the mental exercises and “notes to self” I’ve tried to this point haven’t worked. Oddly, I haven’t tried prayer…
Jesus, help me to stop getting ahead of myself, to pause and reflect and look and listen before rushing to judgement. You who are the Divine Mercy, source of all love and compassion. Amen.
