Numbers 11: 25-29; Psalm 18(19); James 5:1-6; Mark 9: 38-48
The Book of Numbers mainly describes Israel’s wanderings in the wilderness from Mount Sinai towards the Promised Land. The people frequently murmured complaints against Moses, who found the burden of leadership too much to bear. Bored with the daily diet of manna, the people complain, so God gives them heaps of quail, but then punishes them for their greed. God gives some of his spirit to seventy elders to share Moses’ burden, but even if the whole people became prophets Moses must continue alone as leader.
The psalm rejoices in the way both the heavens and God’s commandments reveal the glory of the Lord, while reminding us that we need cleansing from even our “hidden faults”.
Our last reading from the letter of James reminds those who are well off that life is short and their sins will be punished. We should patiently share the earth’s fruits until the Lord’s coming.
In Mark’s Gospel we hear Jesus’ last teachings before he starts his final journey to Jerusalem. Like Moses, Jesus confirms that people may work in God’s name even if they have not been formally appointed. God’s work is not limited to formal organisations. Above all, we should keep our mind on God’s kingdom, not be tempted away from it by the pleasures of this world.
Psalm Response: The precepts of the Lord gladden the heart.
(Numbers 11: 25-29; Psalm 18(19); James 5:1-6; Mark 9: 38-48)