Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Reading
I
Wis 2:12, 17-20
The wicked say:
Let us beset the just one, because he is obnoxious to us;
he sets himself against our doings,
reproaches us for transgressions of the law
and charges us with violations of our training.
Let us see whether his words be true;
let us find out what will happen to him.
For if the just one be the son of God, God will defend him
and deliver him from the hand of his foes.
With revilement and torture let us put the just one to the test
that we may have proof of his gentleness
and try his patience.
Let us condemn him to a shameful death;
for according to his own words, God will take care of him.
Responsorial
Psalm
Ps 54:3-4, 5, 6-8
R. (6b) The Lord upholds my life.
O God, by your name save me,
and by your might defend my cause.
O God, hear my prayer;
hearken to the words of my mouth.
R. The Lord upholds my life.
For the haughty men have risen up against me,
the ruthless seek my life;
they set not God before their eyes.
R. The Lord upholds my life.
Behold, God is my helper;
the Lord sustains my life.
Freely will I offer you sacrifice;
I will praise your name, O LORD, for its goodness.
R. The Lord upholds my life.
Reading
II
Jas 3:16--4:3
Beloved:
Where jealousy and selfish ambition exist,
there is disorder and every foul practice.
But the wisdom from above is first of all pure,
then peaceable, gentle, compliant,
full of mercy and good fruits,
without inconstancy or insincerity.
And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace
for those who cultivate peace.
Where do the wars
and where do the conflicts among you come from?
Is it not from your passions
that make war within your members?
You covet but do not possess.
You kill and envy but you cannot obtain;
you fight and wage war.
You do not possess because you do not ask.
You ask but do not receive,
because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.
Gospel
Mk 9:30-37
Jesus and his disciples left from there and began a journey through
but he did not wish anyone to know about it.
He was teaching his disciples and telling them,
"The Son of Man is to be handed over to men
and they will kill him,
and three days after his death the Son of Man will rise."
But they did not understand the saying,
and they were afraid to question him.
They came to Capernaum and, once inside the house,
he began to ask them,
"What were you arguing about on the way?"
But they remained silent.
They had been discussing among themselves on the way
who was the greatest.
Then he sat down, called the Twelve, and said to them,
"If anyone wishes to be first,
he shall be the last of all and the servant of all."
Taking a child, he placed it in the their midst,
and putting his arms around it, he said to them,
"Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me;
and whoever receives me,
receives not me but the One who sent me."
Commentary
In the First Reading, the wicked try to silence the voice of wisdom and justice. They will oppose the wise and violate the divine law of protection for the poor and the widow (Exod 22:21). The wicked thus confide in themselves and their strength and not in God’s Law. When the just speak out against evil, the wicked will “gang-up” on the just, whose ways are different from theirs. The term “son of God” implies the close relationship of the just with the Lord. The wicked will conspire against the just to see if they, like Job (Job 1:6-12), will persevere in their conviction. It appears, however, that the wicked are so blind that they are incapable of conversion.
In the Second Reading, the author of James presents both true and false wisdom. Earthly wisdom promotes the self and is concerned only with earthly matters, such as riches, power, and prestige; it’s not spiritual but material and in the end is evil. James is showing how false wisdom (false theology/teachings) leads to false morals. In the ancient world, this was a typical argument to show the evils of heresy: it leads to division and immorality. In contrast to this James places wisdom from above, which is pure and spotless. For James, true wisdom helps to edify the community, is peaceful, forbearing and submissive, merciful, does “good”, shows no favoritism, and is not pretentious. In short, James does not consider true wisdom to be anything more than the traditional Jewish notion of proper behavior and moral uprightness. Wisdom, like faith, is practical and must be active and community-oriented. If wisdom is lacking, conflicts will abound. According to James, these conflicts come from our desires, which are rooted in the human heart. In the end, James tells us that people will covet (desire) goods for the sake of their pleasure and not for the sake of sharing them with others: “You ask but do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions”.
Today’s Gospel Reading gives us an important instruction on discipleship. Jesus asks that his journey through Galilee be kept secret apparently due to his desire to instruct his disciples about his passion and resurrection. Although there appears to be a slight allusion to Jesus’ betrayal by Judas: “The Son of Man is to be handed over”, the writer is more concerned with the divine plan of salvation. Despite the previous prediction and explanations of Jesus’ passion, the disciples still fail to understand: “they did not understand the saying”. Marks’ insistence on this point suggests that he was developing an increasingly negative portrait of the disciples (this makes the scene of the disciple’s abandoning Jesus during the passion more understandable). As part of the journey from Caesarea Philippi (8:27) to Jerusalem, Jesus and the disciples stop at Capernaum probably at Peter’s house where a dispute ensues: “who was the greatest”. Jesus responds: “If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all”. Jesus will exemplify the ideal of leadership as service to others as the Gospel story continues. The child in the story actually symbolizes a helpless person who lacks legal status. The child can do nothing for the disciples. To receive a child is to perform a good act for an insignificant person without hope of earthly reward.
Reflection
Jesus’ entire life, from the moment of his birth in the stable at Bethlehem to his death on the cross, was a demonstration of total humility. St. Paul says it best in his Letter to the Philippians (2:6-7a): “Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant”. By emptying himself, Jesus became humble in fidelity to the Father to the point of death on the cross, a punishment reserved for the lowest members of society. This is the essence of today’s readings, to live our discipleship in the same humility that Christ did.
For Jesus the God-man, every person is more valuable than all the precious gems found in the entire universe, and he made this clear when he sat at table with tax collectors, prostitutes, and every other sinner who was willing to open their heart to the Gospel truth. He proclaimed this truth by word and deed, yet at times the message eluded even those closest to him. The mere fact that the disciples were “arguing” among themselves about who was greatest while he was teaching them is testament to this lack of understanding. That is why the figure of the child is so important in Jesus’ teaching. Children at that time had no value. They could do no real work yet had to be maintained. They had absolutely no rights under the law and were considered the parent’s personal property. In essence, to be a child was to be a “nobody”. Although society has surely come a long way from the days of Jesus, there are still many instances where children are still considered “nobody”. Haven’t we all heard that children are supposed to be “seen and not heard”. Many social functions exclude children from their guest lists, and even some communities have exclusion clauses in their contracts that prohibit children. I even know of parents who leave their children with babysitters while they go on a Caribbean cruise. Maybe society has not changed all that much.
No one wants to be treated as a child. People want to be recognized for their achievements and their hard work. Very few people if any, want to be just another faceless person in the crowd. Everybody wants to stand out for something and would like to be acknowledged as the best at something. Everyone wants his or her 15 minutes of fame. This is valid in the religious life as well. It’s not uncommon to find people almost competing to be the one who does the most for the church, or the one who is needed the most, or the one who speaks the best, or even the one who always leads the prayers. Everyone considers his or her group, ministry, apostolate, etc. to be above the others. Many go as far as even to pass judgment on others as if they were God. Haven’t many of us ever been guilty of thinking: “I’m glad I’m not like so and so . . . I come to Mass every Sunday and know how to conduct myself in Church”. Jesus, however, tells us: "If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all." We need to understand once and for all that true discipleship means putting ourselves at the service of others. This means we must empty ourselves of all those things that keep us from imitating Christ. We must become just as that child Jesus embraced – a nobody, a servant. We must live not for ourselves, but for others. We must not keep anything inside that will allow us to exalt ourselves. Instead in everything we say and do we must exalt Jesus Christ who should live in us. To Christ belong the praise and the glory. For him is reserved the first place.
Biblical Sources
New American Bible; Brown, R. K., and Comfort, P. W. (trans.) and Douglas, J. D., (ed.) “The New Greek-English Interlinear New Testament”; United States Conference of Catholic Bishops; Write, A. G., “Commentary on Wisdom”; Davids, P., “Commentary on James”; Leahy, T. W., “Commentary on The Epistle of James”; Kingsbury, J. D., “The Christology of Mark’s Gospel”; Schweizer, E., “The Good News According to Mark”; Tuckett, C. (ed.), “The Messianic Secret”; “The Collegeville Bible Commentary”; Brown, Raymond E., S.S., “Introduction to the New Testament”; Brown, Fitzmyer, and Murphy (ed.) “The New Jerome Biblical Commentary”.
Reflection by
Deacon Lazaro J. Ulloa