Saturday, September 23, 2006
25TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
SEPTEMBER 24, 2006
25TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - B
WISDOM 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.
JAMES 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.
MARK 9:30-37
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."
REFLECTION
In today's Gospel, the teaching of Jesus gives us a truer view of
reality. The event took place on the way to Capernaum. The
Apostles were heatedly arguing as to who was the greatest, the most
important.
Recall too, when James and John requested Jesus that they be placed
in the positions of honor, one to the left and the other to the
right of Jesus in the kingdom. The others were angered at the
request. And Jesus admonished them, "You know that the rulers of
the Gentiles lord it over them, and the great ones made their
authority over them felt. But it shall not be so among you.
Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant;
whoever wishes to be the first among you shall be your slave. Just
so, the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to
give his life as a ransom for many." (Matthew 20:25-28)
Today's liturgy reminds us of what Christian leadership means, and
our call to service.
Our Guide and Model is Jesus. He not only comes as one who serves,
but he was seen as the Suffering Servant of Yahweh of whom Isaiah
the prophet speaks: "He was despised and rejected by men, a man of
sorrows, and acquainted with grief."
And St. Paul writes to the Christians in Philippi: "... Though he was
in the form of God, [He] did not regard equality with God something
to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a
slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, He
humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, Even death on a cross."
What did service mean for this servant?
Obedience...humiliation...death.
How does the servant Jesus touch our service? Intimately. For a
disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master.
Christian service is Christ's service.
And so it involves in the first place - obedience. In essence, to
be obedient means to be open. Open to what God might ask of you,
might ask of you now - a God who calls in unexpected ways, to
unexpected service. The God, who calls countless Saints to heroic
service, the God, who calls millions of nameless Christians to lose
their life in order to save it, to give their lives as a ransom, a
redemption for many. This unpredictable God even calls some strange
characters to become Jesuits.
You will hardly be a servant of Christ if you are not open, if your
tomorrows are so programmed that there is no room for the
unexpected. No, to be Christ's servant is to be as he was: "Not my
will but thine be done." Only in this way will you be open to the
men and women who need the gifts God has given you, need your hands
or your heart, your wisdom or your strength, your love and your
compassion.
Second, humiliation. The primary way Christ humbled himself was in
emptying himself. He put off his right to be God, and put himself
in our condition, became like us. So, don't wait for others to
humiliate you. Christian life is a constant self-emptying, a
putting off of yesterday, to join the human race of today. Like
Jesus you must be increasingly aware of your solidarity with every
man and every woman. In this way only can you be the servant of all.
Third, death. Not just the dying at the end of our earthly
existence. Here we mean the daily dying to yourself that you cannot
escape in Christian living. It is the dying that comes from
openness to God and self-emptying. To die to yourself is to live to
God and to others.
Let's conclude by listening prayerfully to the words of a great
Christian of modern times, Albert Schweitzer, who turned his back on
the concert halls of Europe to become a missionary doctor to the
poor in Africa. Schweitzer said:
"I don't know what your destiny will be, but one thing I know; the
only ones among you who will really be happy are those who sought
and found how to serve."
PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray ...
- for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the unborn.
- for the enlightenment, wisdom and knowledge of Jan Michael B.
Cagulada.
- for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Wedding Anniversary: Johnny & Anna Uy
- In Memoriam (+): Peter Lim, Jr. (1927 -1997)
- for world peace and reconciliation.
Finally, we pray for one another, for those who have asked our
prayers and for those who need our prayers the most.
Have a good day!
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� 2006 Daily-Homily
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