­Just a word before we go...Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time...

In today's Gospel we hear Jesus speaking the wisdom that comes from the Holy Spirit. "Whoever is not against us is for us."  The disciples, personified by John, are railing against those who are doing good but are not of their company. They were guarding their turf, ready to keep at bay those who were also spreading the kingdom and freeing other humans from bondage. The disciples were limited in their understanding of the height and width and depth of the reign of God. It was not their role to exclude others, and Jesus did not hesitate to remind them of that.

As with our gospel last week, wherein the disciples were arguing about who was the most important, the human desire for greatness can blind us to the contributions of others, even to the point of lording it over them. At that point, the question becomes: Whom are we serving? Do we serve the Lord, through our outreach to others; or, are we serving ourselves? The answer to that question points either toward building up the reign of God, or self-promotion.

Doing good is not a competition; we are not to measure all we do by objective standards. "Would that all the people of the Lord were prophets! Would that the Lord might bestow his spirit on them all." These words from our first reading from Numbers speak to the desire of the Lord for inclusion in the work of the kingdom; there is no room for discrimination in this enterprise.

Pope Francis speaks of the importance of inclusiveness, fraternity and solidarity among the people of the earth. This "radical love" spoken of by the pope causes us to reflect on whether we think and act in an inclusive way. For it is by moving toward the inclusion of others that we bear witness to the mercy of God. And how can we expect God's mercy for ourselves if we do not extend that mercy to others?

Jesus said if you give someone as much as a cup of cold water you will be re- warded. When we help build self-confidence in each other; when we refuse to pass judgment on another; when we donate our time, talent or treasure to any organization that improves the quality of life in some way; when we treat the earth as the gift it is intend- ed to be; and when we forgive, or extend ourselves toward another, we are bearing wit- ness to God's mercy. We are cooperating in the building of the kingdom; we are being true to God's desire for us.

Every one of us is integral to the unfolding of the kingdom. Let us remember that we weren't born for Gehenna; we were born to share in the eternal, inclusive, banquet of heaven.