6th Sunday of Ordinary Time
Cycle B
February 14, 2021
Our Lady of Grace Parish, Parkton 8:30am
Saint Mary Parish, Pylesville 11:30am
Circle and Sphere
Two expressions: Circle of Concern and Sphere of Influence.
I heard these terms recently in a presentation that I was listening to. Circle of Concern and Sphere of Influence.
The presenter said that our Circle of Concern can be very big, almost as big as we want. It can include people and issues around the entire world.
Our Sphere of Influence is much smaller. It includes the area of life where we can really make a difference.
An important factor to keep in mind is that if we put too much of our energy and resources into our Circle of Concern, we might end up feeling frustrated. We might feel little sense of accomplishment.
And so, we need to make sure that we put enough of our energy and resources into our Sphere of Influence. We need to put ourselves into the persons or needs where we can probably make a difference.
Jesus’ Circle and Sphere
I thought of all of this as I looked at today’s gospel.
Jesus has a big Circle of Concern. In fact, it is universal.
He wants to reach out to everyone on this earth. In recent weeks and again today, we have been listening to the Gospel of Mark.
Mark shows Jesus moving beyond the Jewish community – to the Gentiles, in other words, to all non-Jews. This is a sign of his universal Circle of Concern.
At the same time, Jesus is careful to devote his attention to his Sphere of Influence – to the here and now where he can make a difference. So, today, he listens to the plea of this one person, a leper.
The man says, “If you wish, you can make me clean.” Jesus responds, “I do will it. Be made clean.”
Notice the influence that Jesus has. He heals the man of his leprosy, but more than that, he makes him “clean.”
Besides being a physical disease, leprosy was seen as making people unclean, and it excluded them from the community. It excluded them from living among others, and even from praying with others in the temple.
So, by making this man “clean,” Jesus re-includes him in the community. This including of others is something that Jesus often does in his Sphere of Influence.
Our Circle and Sphere
All of this leads me to think about us.
Like Jesus, we are to have a universal Circle of Concern. This means, for example, that we are concerned with the oppression in parts of central America, with racial justice in our own country, and with our global environment.
So, we are to have this big Circle of Concern. But we also need to make sure that we attend to our Sphere of Influence.
This has to start with our families and extended families. And then, it also includes doing something in our local community or parish that will make a difference.
For example, Our Lady of Grace Parish supports Assisi House in Baltimore. Your doing this really makes a difference.
Monsignor Hannon told me that he was standing in line for a vaccine shot the other day. The man behind him spoke up and said, “Thank you for all that your parish does for Assisi House. It is making a big difference.”
Monsignor Hannon told me that he did not recognize this man. He had a cap on and was wearing a mask.
And then he realized that this was Bishop Lewandowski – one of the auxiliary bishops of Baltimore. So, you have Assisi House in your Sphere of Influence, and you are making a difference.
I want to add that right now the Annual Appeal for Catholic Ministries is in process. Probably you have already received a mailing on this.
This is way to exert our influence on a lot of other ministries and services, like Assisi House. It can be part of our Sphere of Influence.
Conclusion
So, a Circle of Concern and a Sphere of Influence.
Let’s keep these two things in mind as we read about Jesus in the gospels, and as we think about how we use our energy and resources.
