26 Sunday in ordinary time ‘b’

Mk 9:38-43, 45, 47-48

There are people who don’t believe in Christ or don’t believe in anything but live very exemplary lives. I know a family who is not a Christian family, but they are a wonderful group of people. They are always there for others, ready to help. The husband volunteers in a homeless shelter, and many times they make donations to help others. They don’t know much about Christ, but they love their neighbor for sure. But I also know some people that claim to be followers of Christ, but they live very selfishly, forgetting about others. The disciples in the Gospel today reported to Jesus that there are some people who don’t belong to them but drive out demons. They did something good but are not followers of Christ. Jesus is teaching us today that there are other churches and religions, and if they love and perform good deeds for others, they should be encouraged to do so, not prevented. “For whoever is not against us is for us. Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ, amen, I say to you, will surely not lose his reward.”