DAILY- HOMILY

September 20, 2015 - 25th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME  

Cycle B, Green

Wis 2:12, 17 - 20 / Jas 3: 16 - 4: 3 / Mk 9: 30 - 37

First Reading: Wis 2:12, 17 - 20

     Let us set a trap for the righteous, for he annoys us and opposes our way of life; he reproaches us for our breaches of the Law and accuses us of being false to our upbringing.

     Let us see the truth of what he says and find out what his end will be. If the righteous is a son of God, God will defend him and deliver him from his adversaries.

     Let us humble and torture him to prove his self-control and test his patience. When we have condemned him to a shameful death, we may test his words."

Second Reading: Jas 3:16 - 4:3

     Wherever there is jealousy and ambition, you will also find discord and all that is evil. Instead, the wisdom which comes from above is pure and peace-loving. Persons with this wisdom show understanding and listen to advice; they are full of compassion and good works; they are impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow peace reap a harvest of justice.

     What causes these fights and quarrels among you?  Is it not your inner longings which make war within your own selves? When you long for something you cannot have, you kill for it and when you do not get what you desire, you squabble and fight. You pray for something and you do not get it because you pray with the wrong motive of indulging your pleasures.

Gospel: Mk 9:30 – 37

     After leaving that place, they made their way through Galilee; but Jesus did not want people to know where he was because he was teaching his disciples. And he told them, "The Son of Man will be delivered into human hands. They will kill him, but three days after he has been killed, he will rise." The disciples, however, did not understand these words and they were afraid to ask him what he meant.

     They came to Capernaum and, once inside the house, Jesus asked them, "What were you discussing on the way?" But they did not answer because they had been arguing about who was the greatest.

     Then he sat down, called the Twelve and said to them, "If someone wants to be first, let him be last of all and servant of all." Then he took a little child, placed it in their midst, and putting his arms around it he said to them, "Whoever welcomes a child such as this in my name, welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me, welcomes not me but the One who sent me."

Reflection:

     In January 2008 the UN named Hollywood actor George Clooney as a UN Messenger of peace.  In a speech, Clooney said, "Peace is not just a colored ribbon. It is more than a wristband or a T-shirt, It is not just a donation or a five-K race. It is not just a folk song or a white dove. Peace is certainly more than a celebrity endorsement."

     By defining peace negatively, for what is not, Clooney wanted us to see that peace was more than a conflict-free life. In fact he believed that "peace, like war, must be waged." We have to actively engage ourselves, even to the point of being in conflict or at war, to promote peace.  

     Rather unsettling perhaps? Yet many humanitarian activities are based on this principle of "waging for peace." Red Cross volunteers work despite the danger of bullets in war-torn countries; teachers in the Philippines protect the sanctity of the ballots during elections; many civilians provide sanctuary at great risk for those persecuted by unjust governments.

     In today's second reading from the Letter of James we are reminded that peace begins at the personal level.  We begin peace-making by first confronting the many conflicts within ourselves.

     Making a conscious decision to be honest even if others are not is peace-making. Serving a church or a community even if many leaders are poor and imperfect is peace-making. Seeing and respecting people of other religions or color or orientation is peace-making, Upholding the truth even if a simple lie may be more convenient is peace-making.  If we look within ourselves and the people and the world we live in, we realize how much we can do in waging peace.

     We can learn so much from St. Francis of Assisi's Prayer for Peace: "Lord, make me an instrument of your peace; Where there is hatred, let me sow love; Where there is injury, pardon; Where there is error, truth; Where there is doubt, faith; Where there is despair, hope; Where there is darkness, light; and Where there is sadness, joy. O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; To be understood as to understand; To be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; It is in pardoning that we are pardoned; And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life."

WE PRAY FOR MTQ DAILY PRAYER DIARY INTENTIONS:

IN MEMORIAM (+)

     LIAO E. LIAN

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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   |  The Daily Prayer, a service and an apostolate of the

   |  priests, laity and friends of Mary the Queen Parish

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