If anyone wishes to be first

25th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year B

Collect

O God, who founded all the commands of your sacred Law upon love of you and of our neighbour, grant that, by keeping your precepts, we may merit to attain eternal life. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Wis 2:12, 17-20

Let us condemn him to a shameful death.

A reading from the Book of Wisdom

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.

The word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 54:3-4, 5, 6 and 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.

℟. 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.

℟. 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.

℟. The Lord upholds my life.

Second Reading
Jas 3:16-4:3

The fruit of righteousness is sown in peace for those who cultivate peace.

A reading from the Letter of Saint James

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.

The word of the Lord.

Acclamation before the Gospel
Cf. 2 Thes 2:14

℟. Alleluia, alleluia.

God has called us through the Gospel
to possess the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
℟. Alleluia, alleluia.

Mk 9:30-37

The Son of Man is to be handed over … Whoever wishes to be first will be the servant of all.

✠ A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark

Jesus and his disciples left from there and began a journey through Galilee,
   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.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

Lectio Divina

This Sunday’s readings have the same approach and message as those of last Sunday.

The First Reading, taken from the Book of Wisdom, can easily evoke several emotions in us because, many of us, at times in our lives have experienced or are experiencing similar situations clearly described by the sacred author. These harsh experiences are caused by people without a conscience, who, in order to hide their deeds, do not allow righteous people to speak the truth. They plan to the last detail how they will get rid of them. They accomplish this by the worst form of death: character assassination, they force him to endure a life of shame! On top of that they also wanted to use the sufferings of the just man to test God also.

But the just person has his feet planted on solid ground, his heart belongs to God. Therefore, in the Psalm we find the humble declaration of this person, when he says with total confidence in God: “the Lord is the one who sustains me.” This differs greatly with the First Reading where we find the wicked man arrogantly thinking he has control over everything, contrasting with the words of the just man who with great humility abandons himself and his cause into God’s hands.

In the Second Reading from the Letter of St James, we find the cause and some of the effects of wickedness. Towards the end of the reading the author offers us a challenge and some advice on how to overcome wickedness. St James tells us that the root of wickedness comes from jealousy which manifests itself in fighting, quarrelling and lack of self-control and leads to all sorts of iniquity, satisfying our evil passions and stripping us from any form of self-respect and respect towards others. He does not end there, the author challenges us further by telling us that we have nothing because we do not pray, and because we have abandoned God and, in his place, we delight in unrestrained pleasure-seeking which we have created to fill the void that we ourselves have made.

It might be good to ask: What causes people to stoop so low and allow jealousy to control their lives? Do you think that this takes place because people are so arrogant that they believe they are invincible and control everything and everyone? In reality, they control nothing if they do not have self-discipline. Perhaps they arrived at this point because they are afraid of the truth which comes from God and from those who follow him?

The Gospel, taken from Mark, corresponds perfectly with the First Reading in relation to the trials of the just man, and agrees perfectly with the Second Reading on the cause of this testing. Jesus himself foretold what he was to suffer and his resurrection from the dead. But when the apostles heard this, they focused their attention on who shall take Jesus’ place in his absence, which one of them would be the greatest. Oh, how imperfect they were! Jesus knew what they were discussing, and he gave them, and us as well, a powerful teaching about what is at the core of human greatness which is found in humility and simplicity and leads to our total abandonment into God’s hands in complete trust in him. These virtues are necessary in our faith journey as well as in our daily lives. They lead us to continue in our sincere search for God, to discovered him and received him into our lives and serve him with conviction as well as serve our brothers and sister with a humble heart.

It might do us well to reflect briefly: Do we fear humility? Does the thought of abandoning my life into God’s hands terrify me? Can I say that I am at peace within myself? How do today’s readings challenge me deeply? What does God want to say to me through these readings?
I invite you to reflect on a sentence that I found recently: “it is necessary to be very little to be truly great.” Complimenting this quote we find the words of R. H. Benson: “Feeling truly small and insignificant is always a beneficial feeling.”

Prayer

Lord Jesus, you know me intimately, you know those who want to test both you and me. Do not allow me to stumble before their wickedness; do not allow me to take my eyes off you, and with the Psalmist I ask you to hold me fast.

Lord, fill my heart with a true humility that recognises your greatness and the hideousness of jealousy. Lord, give me patience and goodness so that I will continue to search for you and receive you into my life. Amen.

 

Ara l-Qari tal-Ħdud li għaddew