Reading 1
Wis 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.
Reading II
Jas 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.
Gospel
Mk 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.”
Meditation: Mark 9:30-37
It seems that we have a lot in common with the apostles.
We love Jesus; they loved Jesus. We want to follow him; they followed him. We want to please him, and so did they. And like the apostles, we too are bound by our human weaknesses. Today’s Gospel tells us that Jesus was trying to teach the apostles, but they weren’t really listening. They were discussing—arguing—about who was the greatest. Doesn’t this sound like the self-concerns that can keep us far from the Lord and his people?
We shouldn’t look down on the apostles. Like us, they had the natural human tendency to place themselves above those around them. Like us, they had the natural human tendency to think about their needs and desires more than the needs and desires of others. In other words, their hearts needed to be shaped and purified, just as ours do!
When Jesus asked about the conversation, the apostles kept quiet. They knew that he didn’t like senseless arguments, so they were reluctant to own up to them. So let’s ask ourselves: “How many times do I engage in senseless arguments? How many times have I tried to prove my point while knowing all the time that the argument was trivial?”
The apostles eventually outgrew these fallen mind-sets. They realized that they were God’s children and that they were being entrusted with God’s work. They understood that what counted most was to show people how to love God and one another.
As Jesus did with the apostles, he wants to do with us. He wants to show us a higher way to live. He wants to show us how noble and pleasing it is to serve others above ourselves. He wants to teach us how to avoid getting caught up in senseless arguments and how to redirect our conversations so that they help promote virtue and love over envy and jealousy.
“Jesus, teach me how to put others ahead of myself. I want to be like you, Lord.”
Wisdom 2:12,17-20; Psalm 54:3-6,8; James 3:16-–4:3
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