The Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary
Time
(Wisdom 2:12.17-20; James 3:16-4: 3; Mark
9:30-37)
Sixty years ago the Broadway musical
“Camelot” won great acclaim. The story takes place in England in the Middle
Ages. King Arthur’s court had the most daring knights in the world. Then Sir
Lancelot comes from France to serve the king. Lancelot is proud, even vain. He
says that he is the best at everything. In one song Lancelot uses the French
words, “C’est moi” (“It’s I”), to express his greatness. He asks himself:
"Where can you find such an extraordinary man?" And he answers his question:
“C’est moi” (“It’s I”). We see a shade of this vanity in the gospel today.
The apostles argue on the way who among
them is the most important. Obviously more than one of the twelve wants to
answer: “C’est moi; it's I". The pity of the scene is not so much that the
disciples of Jesus are proud. More heartbreaking is that Jesus has just told
them how he will soon suffer terribly. He will be delivered to the Romans who
will execute him. Either the apostles don't care or don't understand. But, if
they really do not understand it, shouldn't they overcome their fear to ask for
an explanation?
It is true that vanity or pride is a primordial
sin. According to the Book of Proverbs, "Before the fall, there was pride
..." (16,18). Following this scenario, the serpent tempts the couple in
the garden with the expectation that they will become "like gods." To
prevent us from becoming proud when we were children, our mothers scolded us:
"The world does not revolve around you." But it is a difficult lesson
to learn. We like to think of ourselves as the most important, the most
beautiful, or the brightest people in the world.
At the source of this dreadful tendency is
extreme individualism. We think we can do everything that we want to do. We are
confident that we think we don't need anyone else. We even at times think of
ourselves as above the community, not responsible to anyone. At the same time we
do not think that God cares about what we do. The first reading expresses this
fantasy perfectly well. It quotes wicked men saying among themselves while they
plot a trap for the righteous: "’If the righteous one is the son of God,
he will help him… "
The second reading echoes these warnings
against pride and extreme individualism. It points out that evil passions are at
the bottom of all conflicts. It sees ambition as one of these passions, which
in its extreme form seeks rewards without keeping the rules. Athletes who take
drugs to win medals at the Olympics are guilty of ambition. Another evil
passion referred to here is greed that desires what belongs to other people.
Jesus does not lack the patience to teach
his disciples, including us, what true importance is. He says that the importance
is not in being admired by others but in serving others. It is the truth that the
famous radio star Garrison Keillor once admitted. Keillor said that while he
was seeking for all the “merit badges” of his profession, he didn't do as much
for others as any good cleaning woman.
Interestingly, Jesus never condemns
self-love. But he commands that we love the other as much as ourselves and that
we love God above all. We have to admit that the most important one is not
"moi.”. Not even the second most important is "moi.” We are like
everyone else - complexes of virtues and vices, strengths and weaknesses,
possibilities and limits. We will reach our full potential by following the
Lord Jesus in giving ourselves for the good of others. It will seem at first
that we are studying and working only for ourselves. However, the time will
come when we choose whether we will live mainly for ourselves or for others and
for God, above all. Let’s hope that we have chosen to live for God above all.
