Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time,
(Wisdom 2:12, 17-20; James 3:16-4:3; Mark 9:30-37)
We are accustomed to thinking of Jesus’ disciples as heroes.
It is true that history teaches how they proved their courage on their
missionary journeys after the Resurrection. But in the four Gospels, they often
appear more like the Three Stooges than the three Wisemen. In none of the
Gospels do they act with as much ineptitude as they do in Mark's.
Particularly in Mark, the
disciples continually fail to understand Jesus when he teaches in public.
Jesus, the great teacher, must explain his teachings to them afterwards in
private. Much worse, the disciples show cowardice during Jesus’ Passion. One
betrays Him, another denies Him, and all of them flee when He is arrested like adolescents
playing baseball when someone hits a ball through a neighbor’s window. Today’s
Gospel is no exception to this profile of the disciples.
For the second time, Jesus has told them how He will be
handed over, executed, and rise from the dead. Except for the last part, it
will be a horrific experience. Yet, the disciples seem unconcerned as they walk
along discussing who among them is the most important. You might think of them
as spoiled young men acting with typical insensitivity.
But in all probability, they are no worse than most of us,
who forget our baptismal commitment when it is inconvenient. Many of us lie to
avoid an embarrassing situation. Many also would rather stay watching a movie
that proves to be semi-pornographic movie than leave the theater. Thank God,
Jesus always shows us patience in the Sacrament of Penance.
The disciples receive this same patience in the gospel.
Jesus does not scold them for wanting to be important. Instead, He teaches them
how to be important in God’s eyes. When He takes the child in His arms, He
holds up an example of those who matter the least in society. He says that to
be important, one must serve such a person. In other words, to win approval of
God, the chief justice, we must serve everyone, especially the weakest among us.
The other day, a story appeared in the newspaper about a man
who has been serving everyone for a long time. The writer was on a shuttle bus
going from the car rental lot to the airport terminal. He noticed a banner in
the bus congratulating the driver for forty-five years of excellent service.
When the driver, named David, announced that he had been doing the job for all
that time, the passengers showed their appreciation. The writer saw the care
with which David handled the passengers’ luggage and the joy with which he
commented on his experiences. He concluded that no matter what a person’s
vocation is, what they do is not nearly as important as how they do it. As
Mother Teresa used to say: “We may not be able to do great things, but we can
always do small things with great love.”
Jesus wants to teach His disciples that it doesn’t matter so
much what others think of us. What always matters is how God sees our actions.
If God sees us treating even the most insignificant people with respect and
love, He is pleased. Then we have truly made ourselves important.
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