By Sister Susan Nchubiri, M.M.
Sunday, September 8, 2024
Is 35:4-7a | Jas 2:1-5 | Mk 7:31-37
Show no partiality as you adhere to the faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ.
We could draw out many themes from this Sunday’s scriptures, but I would like to illuminate two: healing and impartiality.
Each of the readings mentions the powerful acts of healing and restoration of health. The blind see, the deaf hear, the lame leap, captives are set free, the oppressed find justice, the hungry are fed, and the streams flow into the desert. This is the work of our loving God, who restores and heals the entire creation. As we celebrate the Season of Creation this month, let us be inspired and uplifted by the power of God’s restoration and healing.
At the same time, let us be the instruments of healing for our brothers and sisters and our common home. Our society today is assailed by untold suffering caused by unrest, protracted armed conflicts, genocides, racism, apartheid, and illegal and dehumanizing occupation, coupled with adverse climate change outcomes.
Faced with all these evils, one can easily feel overwhelmed and think there is no hope. “What is the point in doing anything if one’s small action may not make a difference?” In recent months, I have entertained such thoughts and feelings, especially concerning the Israeli-Hamas war and the sheer enormity of death and destruction in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ukraine, Lebanon, and Burkina Faso; the immense displacement of people due to famine, flooding, landslides, and other global warming disasters; and the increased aversion to migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees.
Situations such as these are compounded by governments’ unwillingness and people’s indifference to take action to heal, restore, and treat others as one would wish to be treated. Inertia, despair, hopelessness, and partiality can kick in on seemingly insurmountable and complex situations. In recent weeks, I have felt as if our advocacy efforts are falling on deaf ears and that the battle for justice, peace, human rights, human dignity, and care of creation is doomed.
However, in his message on the World Day of Prayer for Care Creation, Pope Francis reminds us that “the life of a Christian is one of faith, active in charity and abounding in hope, as we await the Lord’s return in glory.” Therefore, we can not afford to despair or be hopeless because God works in us and through us.
Active faith calls us to love and be in solidarity with all who suffer injustice and violence, whether physical, structural, systemic or ideological. It invites us to treat every human being with dignity, respect, and honor regardless of their status, race, gender, political affiliation, religion, or geographical location.
This leads me to the second theme I draw from this Sunday’s scripture—impartiality.
In the second reading, we are not just invited but urged to embrace the principle of impartiality. ”Show no partiality as you adhere to the faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ….”(James: 2:1). Our faith teaches us that we are all created in God’s image and likeness, and we must love as God has loved us to the point of dying on the cross to compensate for our sins. Impartiality does not mean neutrality. When faced with fear and despair about an unjust situation, we must remember not to be neutral or indifferent. We must be radically courageous to speak and act to transform the situation.
When we are ‘fearful of heart’ and overwhelmed by the violence and hate that is around us, Prophet Isaiah tells us, “Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God; he comes with vindication; with divine recompense, he comes to save you” (Isa: 35:4). Therefore, we have no excuse or doing nothing. Like the Christ we follow, we must reach out, touch the pain of the other, and proclaim healing and restoration. For Jesus “put his finger into the man’s ears and, spitting, touched his tongue; then he looked up to heaven and groaned and said to him, “Ephphatha!”— that is, “Be opened!” and the man was healed (Mk 7:33-34).
This Gospel has set for us an example of what active faith means. We see active faith in the “people who brought to Jesus a deaf man who had a speech impediment and begged him to lay his hand on him” (Mk7:32). And in Jesus, that faith was rewarded. And the man’s hearing and speech were restored.
I invite us to reflect on the following questions:
- How can I be in solidarity with those suffering injustice and violence? How can I be God’s instrument of healing/restoration and hope?
- How have I been partial in my relationships or response to the injustice and violence around me? How might I break away from my partiality, indifference, and judgment?
Maryknoll Sister Susan Nchubiri, who earned a bachelor’s degree in religious studies and a master’s in sociology, entered the Maryknoll Sisters in 2004. She served in Hong Kong, and then Haiti, leading various pastoral projects until 2016. In her current assignment, she is a program associate for the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns.
To read other Scripture reflections published by the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns, click here.
Featured image: Photo of Sister Susan Nchubiri reading the liturgy at an Ash Wednesday service at the White House on February 14, 2024. (Jordan Denari Duffner/U.S.)
