In a reading from the Book of Numbers, Moses rejoices that, for the sake of Israel, God has given His spirit to the seventy elders, including two at a distance. He then invites Joshua to welcome, not resent, this manifestation of God’s generosity. This is the same openness that Jesus asks of his disciples in Mark 9:38-43, 45, 47-48.

A lot of mistakes have been committed by many of us with the alibi – “I just wanted to do what I thought was good.” Mark 9:38-43, 45, 47-48  gives us some categories to consider whenever we try to discern the goodness that we feel we are attracted to:

Real goodness goes with charity for all. Jesus rebuked John. It was wrong for him to seek exclusivity of doing good in the name of Jesus. Nobody can claim monopoly of God and his Spirit, together with goodness comes not just generosity, but magnanimity. Exclusivity come from an ego bloated with pride and self-preservation. Exclusivity comes from a subtle but dangerous tendency to claim the credit and title for good acts to oneself.The value of goodness is not the act itself, but the motive of the heart.  A piece of bread may be a small when seen from human measurements, but Jesus says it becomes great before God’s judgement because of the motive that goes with it. More than the motive even, the small act may mean so much for the receiver.

Goodness edifies. To be open and available to respond quickly to present needs can mean saving lives. Beyond this, however, the believer cares for the whole and total good of every person. Especially in matters that involve the sharing of material and financial goods, one has to ask: how will this affect the attitudes and views of the recipient. This, I believe can be a broad meaning of Jesus’ words: “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him a great millstone were put around his neck…”

Together with goodwill, prudence and discernment should always accompany our reaching out to others. We should not make them dependent on us, but empower them. We should not lead them to pragmatism that runs along the edge of materialism, but we should see to it that our reaching out deepens them also in faith and hope.

Eternal good is above all. The concrete and particular issues of our present world can demand much our creativity and commitment. Issues of poverty alleviation, ecology, housing, education, justice, and peace, these are legitimate concerns that we could not help but confront with the imperatives of the Gospel. We must avoid being myopic, though. This world is a passing world, we are all pilgrims. Jesus himself taught: What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world, but loses his soul. In James 5:1-6, James strongly condemns the rich for their exploitations of the poor and the weak. Punishment is in store for them on the day of reckoning.

Let our hopes and strivings be not just for material, financial, and ephemeral  good — “Serve the people.”

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