25th Sunday in Ordinary Time, September 19, 2021

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What it means to be first in the Kingdom of God

Gospel: Mark 9:30–37

They left that place and passed through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know where they were, because he was teaching his disciples. He said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.” But they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it.

They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?” But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest.

Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.”

He took a little child whom he placed among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.”

Music Meditations

Opening Prayer

Jesus, keep me innocent and trusting of you and others… Help me to view everyone as beloved, as you did. Give me wisdom to discern what matters and who matters in my life. I lift up my prayers to you for all those who feel lost and abandoned, all those in pain and sorrow… [think of and name those specific people for whom you especially pray]. Lord, keep my eyes open for opportunities to serve.

Companions for the Journey

From Living Space, a service of the Irish Jesuits:
Commentary on Mark 9:30-37

Jesus was now spending more time with his disciples alone and teaching them. He was teaching them things that the crowds were not yet ready to hear. As we will see, his disciples were not too ready either.

Today we have the second of three predictions of Jesus’ passion, death and resurrection which he communicates to his disciples. On each occasion, the pattern is exactly the same:

  1. a prediction of what is going to happen to Jesus
  2. total lack of comprehension of the meaning of what Jesus is saying on the part of the disciples
  3. a teaching of Jesus arising out of their lack of understanding.

The prediction is stated simply:

  • Jesus will be “handed over into the hands of others”. This is the standard term used many times. John the Baptist is handed over; Jesus is handed over; the disciples later on will be handed over; and, in the Eucharist, the Body of Jesus is handed over for our sakes (“This is my Body, which will be handed over [tradetur] for you”).
  • he will be put to death
  • three days later he will rise again.

They arrive in Capernaum and, in the house, Jesus asks them a question. (Once again we have a reference to the “house” with overtones of the church, the place where God’s people gather, as they do here to listen to the Word of God.) Jesus asks his disciples what seems an innocuous question: “What were you arguing about on the road?”

Here we have another important word of Mark’s: “road” (Greek, hodos, ’odos). In the context of the Gospel it has theological overtones. Jesus is the Way or the Road and Christians are those who walk on this Way or Road. The disciples arguing then has implications about Christians arguing among themselves as they follow Christ ‘on the road’.

Jesus’ question is met with an embarrassed silence because they had been arguing among themselves which of them was the greatest. The minute the question was asked they knew they were in the wrong. Why were they arguing about this? I once heard it suggested that, as Jesus had now for the second time announced his coming death, they were beginning to accept the possibility of it really happening. They began to wonder what would happen to them as a group without Jesus. Who would be in charge? Which of them had the best qualifications? Hence their argument. If that was the case, then Jesus’ question was even more embarrassing. They could hardly say, “Well, we were wondering which one of us would take over when you are no longer with us.”

Jesus, of course, knew exactly what was going on in their minds so he gave them some guidelines if they wanted to be truly his followers. “If anyone wants to be first, he must make himself last of all and servant of all.” This is quite a hard saying and most of us find it difficult to put fully into practice. It is, of course, totally in opposition to what goes on in the secular world where “success” means being on top, being in charge, being in control, calling the shots.

Yet, who are really the greatest people in our society? Is it not those, especially those who are especially talented intellectually or in other ways, who use their talents totally for the well-being of others to the point of even sacrificing their lives?

Apart from the obvious example of Jesus himself, we have many of the great saints. In our own times we have marvelous people like Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Dorothy Day, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Oscar Romero, Jean Vanier, Mother Teresa. It is a long list but they all have one thing in common: they put themselves totally at the service of their brothers and sisters. Success, promotion, status, material wealth, executive power meant nothing to these people. They served and in serving was their power, a power which inspires in a way that no mere politician or business tycoon or dictator could ever do.

To serve is not to be submissive or weak; it is not putting oneself on a lower level than those being served. It is simply to be totally committed to the good of others and to find one’s own well-being in being so committed.

Jesus then takes a little child, as a symbol of all those who are vulnerable, weak and exploitable. Children are used by Jesus as symbols of the anawim, the lowly and weak in our society. They are the ones who are most of all to be served and protected and nurtured. In so doing one is recognizing the presence of Jesus and the presence of God in them.

As Christians, we have much to be proud of in our record of service to our brothers and sisters, especially those who are weak and vulnerable. But we also have to confess that within our Church and in our dealings with the “world” we have had our fair share of hungering for power, status and position. And we have so often argued bitterly with each other “on the Road”, about just such things.

Weekly Memorization

Taken from the gospel for today’s session…

Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last

Living the Good News

What action can you take in the next week as a response to today’s reading and discussion?

Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions or the meditations which follow:

Reflection Questions

  • What does Jesus’ willingness to endure whatever came his way do to help us through some miserable times in our own lives?
    What are the up-sides and the down-sides of ambition?
  • In our culture, how much do we dwell on what makes us different, separate, better than those around us?
    What is the role of ambition in our spiritual life?
    What does it mean to cultivate “downward mobility”?
  • Thomas Merton said; “No person enters heaven alone.” What does that mean in terms of our own spiritual development?
  • Is spirituality a competition for some as well?
    How does it manifest itself?
    Do I know anyone who is a spiritual braggart?
    How do we avoid it?
  • How does one “wish to be last”?
  • Walter Burghardt, S.J. wrote a homily on the occasion of the jubilee celebrations (50 years) of several priests. In it, he defined a true priest as a man of joy, a man for others, and a man of prayer.
    Do I know any priest who fits this description?
    Do I know any non-priest who does so?
    Do I fit this description? Which quality is the hardest for me?
  • To be disciple means more that spreading Christ’s message; it means living his life. Where am I on the road to discipleship?
  • Do I live to serve the gospel?
  • Am I willing to suffer humiliation to become a servant of Jesus?
    Have I ever made someone feel “lesser” because of the way I related to him or her?
    Was I aware of it at time?
    How can I avoid the habit of viewing people on a scale and consciously or unconsciously competing with them?
  • What is the cost of being “a servant of all”, which can also be translated “deacon”?
    How do we view deacons in our church?
    How has the term “servant of all” been used against women historically?
  • How does our call to social justice find resonance in this gospel?
  • From “First Impressions” 2021:
    What “Christian Servant” Role am I currently involved in?
  • What is the role of openness to God’s plan (another word: obedience) in being a servant of the Lord? How hard is this?
  • Walter Burghardt says faithful servanthood is a movement from a person to a person through a person. It is making it easier for a man or woman to live a more human, a more Christian existence. How, exactly, does that play out in our lives?
  • Why did Jesus choose to focus on children in this passage?
    What was the position of children in the ancient middle east? What is the role in our culture?
    Does the difference affect how we hear this passage?
    What does the tragedy in our own country of children ripped from their parents at the border tell us about how well, as a people, we listen to Jesus?
  • How does the notion of children as powerless extend to all those in this world who lack power and are at the mercy of others (anawim)?
    Name some people who have worked and given up much to serve those without power.
    What is my personal obligation to the powerless, here and now?
  • What, as a Church, do we owe our children?
    What do we do as a Church to welcome children?
    What have we done as a Church to marginalize children? To hurt some of them?
  • What is my “inner child”? How do I honor that?
    Do I really accept and nurture the child within myself?
  • Do I ever try to “tame” the gospel so it is not uncomfortable or threatening?
Catholic Community at Stanford’s Encounter Christ small group faith sharing offers the opportunity to meet and reflect with others on questions like these as well as other aspects of the journey of faith.

Meditations

A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions:

Read the following passage from Sunday’s Letter of James (an early Christian author). How does it mirror the sentiments of the gospel? Does any of it apply to you? Speak to Jesus about your desires to live as He would want you to.

For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there you find disorder and every evil practice. But the wisdom that comes from above is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness. What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

A Meditation in the Ignatian Style/Examen:

Spend some time this week, just before bed, going over the events of the day and making a little “Examination of Consciousness”. First, become present to God in your life right this moment. How aware were you of God in your life today? Take time to give thanks for all the good thinks that happened, however small. Like a child, revel in small things like sunshine or cool weather, for a text from someone you care about, for simply being alive. Did you receive any kindness from anyone today? Did you extend kindness to anyone today? Is there anything you did which might reflect your understanding of yourself as a “servant of the Lord”? Reflect on even the smallest details of your day, including any slights, hurts or failures that might have occurred. What did you learn about yourself from those experiences? Be sure to thank God for them, as well. Throughout the week, in each prayer experience, be sure to reflect on gratitude as a spirit building mindset, and reflect also on one habit of the heart you might wish to cultivate this week in order to be the person Jesus calls you to be.

A Meditation in the Augustinian Style/Relationship:

Adapted from Songs of Life: Psalm Meditations from the Catholic Community at Stanford by Anne Marchand Greenfield, 2004:

In New Seeds of Contemplation, Thomas Merton said:

I am thinking of the particular unreality that gets into the hearts of saints and eats their sanctity away before it is mature. There is something of this worm in the hearts of all religious people. As son as they have done something which they know is good in the eyes of God, they tend to take its reality to themselves and make it their own. They tend to destroy their virtues by claiming them for themselves and clothing their own private illusion of themselves with values that belong to God.

The saints are what they are not because their sanctity makes them admirable to others, but because the gift of sainthood makes it possible for them to admire everybody else.

I write my own letter to God in my journal, thanking God for my own particular spiritual gifts, but being very careful not to think those gifts make me better than others. Talk to God about the ways in which you want to avoid comparing yourself to someone else, good or bad.

Poetic Reflection:

How does the following poem from the Rev. Ed Ingebretsen, S.J. illustrate the difficulty of responding to the question “Who do You say that I am”?

“Lonely Christ”

Lonely Christ
I pray to you.
You are a puzzle to me
as those I love
always are.

My soul is at odds
with the words.
What mad reach of mine
touches any thread of you?
Or what of mine, arms or eyes,
ever shares with people
where they may lie—
as they always do—
in a hard place!

What of mine shall make good
their taking of a breath,
their rising, caring, feeding
their sleeping in fear—
what shall make good
their slight faith,
their enormous promises
made in iron
for a child, man, a woman—

what of mine shall be with the people
as they caress a special grief
fondled again and again
In bludgeoned love?

What do I bring
with which to clutch
the merest hint of your shadow?

Closing Prayer

Lord, you know my heart; you know its generosity and its venality. Help me to notice the thinking patterns in myself what wish to deny reality. Help me to face life squarely and honestly, as you did. Help me also to avoid the temptation to vie with others for your attention and the attention of the world. Help me to be an island of healing and calm when there is squabbling and backbiting among those I love or those with whom I work. Make me an instrument of peace, not competitiveness.