Readings: 2 Timothy 4:1-8; Psalm 70:8-9, 14-17, 22; Mark 12:38-44.
‘Christ has said that he is truth, not fashion’.[1] This saying of Tertullian is in sync with the teaching of today’s first reading. From his travels throughout the Greek and Roman world there was probably no one more well placed than Paul to see – and see through – the fashions and fads of his time. Thus today’s exhortation – ‘proclaim the message, and, welcome or unwelcome, insist on it’ – emerges from Paul’s own travails and trials. This commission and challenge occur in the course of ‘the time…when far from being content with sound teaching, people will be avid for the latest novelty’. Described in terms of ‘instead of listening to the truth, they will turn to myths’, many are drawn to false dichotomies and futile doctrines.
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Gnosticism is the belief that salvation can be attained through gnosis—secret, mystical, or esoteric divine knowledge—rather than through faith, creeds, or sacraments Pelagianism is a theological view that denies the doctrine of original sin, it emphasizes that humans have the free will to choose good or evil without divine intervention, meaning salvation can theoretically be achieved by human effort without God’s grace. |
Pope Francis frequently warned against such contemporary dangers to Christian faith. Chapter Two of his Apostolic Exhortation Rejoice and Be Glad is entitled, ‘Two Subtle Enemies Of Holiness’ and this evaluates Gnosticism and Pelagianism which ‘are two heresies from early Christian times’ yet they continue to plague us’.[2] With headlines such as ‘An intellect without God and without flesh’, ‘A doctrine without mystery’ and ‘the limits of reason’, the Exhortation gives a flavour of the estrangement of Gnosticism from the Gospel. Similarly with Pelagianism which, as Francis formulated, ‘subtly led back to the old error of the gnostics, which was simply transformed rather than eliminated’. The chapter concludes with a call to an examination of conscience: ‘These aberrations take various shapes, according to the temperament and character of each person. So, I encourage everyone to reflect and discern before God whether they may be present in their lives’.[3]
The first reading furnishes the Pauline testament of finishing the witness to and work for the Gospel while waiting in hope for the ‘crown of righteousness’. This finds further expression in the Gospel reading where Jesus points out the generosity of the ‘poor widow’ whose existence is in extremis yet her example is exalted over those who have contributed to the Temple treasury from their surplus. Together the readings testify to a theology that ties together the true threads of Christian worship and witness, words and works.
Kevin O’Gorman SMA
[1] Quoted in The Pope Benedict Reader, Park Ridge, Ill: Word of Fire Institute, 2021, 238.
[2] Gaudete et Exsultate – Rejoice and Be Glad’, Dublin, Veritas, 2028, Par. 35.
[3] Ibid., Par. 62