God can heal us through anyone – Mark 9:38-48, Num 11:25-29

OT Yr B, Wk 26; Walsh Hall (ND).

There isn’t really a good transition from plucking eyes out to anything else, so I won’t try.  But, I’m not going to start by preaching about eye-plucking.  I’m not going to ignore that bit like it’s some kind of a dead letter, but let me start somewhere else, and then we’ll get there. 

Jesus embraces us – Mark 9:30-37, James 3:16-4:3

OT Yr B, Wk 25; slight variants preached at two different Masses at Notre Dame this weekend.

There’s a puzzle that British newspapers like to publish called ‘spot the ball.’  They’ll take a photo of a moment in a soccer match, use computer wizardry to render the ball invisible and invite readers to reconstruct where it must be.  It sometimes takes some thought, but it’s an eminently doable puzzle, because all the action really is revolving around the ball; everyone on the pitch treats it as the most important object in the world and focuses their action around it.  It’s the same when someone really important, really valued, really great is walking somewhere.  Maybe we see it on campus on weekends like this, or we’ve all seen media images of a rap star or president walking surrounded by their entourage.  They’re surrounded, in the center, all conversations and interactions are rooted around the great one in their midst.