For Whoever Is Not Against Us Is For Us

There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name

who can at the same time speak ill of me.

Photo I took at the Chris Tomlin
"And If Our God Is For Us" tour.

For whoever is not against us is for us.” –Mark 9:39-40

The Gospel message today has an ecumenical undertone to it.  The Lord tells the disciples that when they see someone driving out demons in the Lord’s name that they should not stop it.  The Lord tells them that whoever is not against them is for them.  This is an interesting topic to reflect upon especially in our 21^st Century global religious crisis.  

  

There are seemingly endless numbers of denominations of Christianity in the world today.  The Gospel message retains most, if not all, of the truth known to the Apostles in the early Church.  The ecumenical spirit of the Church calls upon every Christian to remember that we are all children of the Lord and should put aside difference and focus on the primary person that ties us all together and that is Jesus Christ.  While I will maintain that the Holy Catholic Church does teach the fullness of truth, I accept the teaching of Pope John Paul II when he said that other religions and denominations have some element of the truth within them.  

The evangelical spirit of the Church can learn from our Protestant brothers and I also believe that our protestant brothers can learn from our grasp of the tradition and the history of the Church.  The leaders of our Church recognize this as we are in the midst of what the Church calls the New Evangelization and, within the American Church, the Catholics Come Home campaign.  These initiatives call upon the faithful to reconnect and rediscover the richness of the Church’s teaching and her history.  These movements have proven most necessary as the Western culture embraces a sensationalized notion of secularization.  

The public forum must have the Church’s presence.  Our schools must also allow the same freedom to the students who profess faith as to those who do not as guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States.  The Church teaches dignity and respect for all people founded in objective morality and responsibility.  The absence of objective morality has been seen in the rise of school violence and also in the public political discord within our governmental leaders.  

The Prince and Me (2004)

The movie, “The Prince and Me,” presents an interesting exchange between the Crown Prince and the political and social leaders of his country.  During a heated exchange, the Prince calls for a break and makes a statement about how their discussions, and at times arguments, are about people.  The people who work and live dependent upon their decisions.  He states that they have to care for their opposition as much as themselves.  He basically presents an empathetic approach to gain compromise which benefits the people in the end.  

The same must be done within ourselves.  Prejudices, misgivings and misunderstandings must be put aside and we must adopt the greatest commandment of the Lord as a rule for our lives:  We must love the Lord our God with all our hearts and love our neighbors as ourselves.  Returning to the Lord will allow us to grow as people and as witnesses to the cross of the Lord.  And through it all we can know that whoever is not against us is for us.