First reading Wisdom 2:12,17-20
The wicked prepare to ambush the just man
The godless say to themselves:
‘Let us lie in wait for the virtuous man, since he annoys us
and opposes our way of life,
reproaches us for our breaches of the law
and accuses us of playing false to our upbringing.
‘Let us see if what he says is true,
let us observe what kind of end he himself will have.
If the virtuous man is God’s son, God will take his part
and rescue him from the clutches of his enemies.
Let us test him with cruelty and with torture,
and thus explore this gentleness of his
and put his endurance to the proof.
Let us condemn him to a shameful death
since he will be looked after – we have his word for it.’
Responsorial Psalm 53(54):3-6,8
The Lord upholds my life.
O God, save me by your name;
by your power, uphold my cause.
O God, hear my prayer;
listen to the words of my mouth.
The Lord upholds my life.
For proud men have risen against me,
ruthless men seek my life.
They have no regard for God.
The Lord upholds my life.
But I have God for my help.
The Lord upholds my life.
I will sacrifice to you with willing heart
and praise your name for it is good.
The Lord upholds my life.
Second reading James 3:16-4:3
The wisdom that comes from above makes for peace
Wherever you find jealousy and ambition, you find disharmony, and wicked things of every kind being done; whereas the wisdom that comes down from above is essentially something pure; it also makes for peace, and is kindly and considerate; it is full of compassion and shows itself by doing good; nor is there any trace of partiality or hypocrisy in it. Peacemakers, when they work for peace, sow the seeds which will bear fruit in holiness.
Where do these wars and battles between yourselves first start? Isn’t it precisely in the desires fighting inside your own selves? You want something and you haven’t got it; so you are prepared to kill. You have an ambition that you cannot satisfy; so you fight to get your way by force. Why you don’t have what you want is because you don’t pray for it; when you do pray and don’t get it, it is because you have not prayed properly, you have prayed for something to indulge your own desires.
Gospel Mark 9:30-37
Anyone who welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me
Jesus and his disciples made their way through Galilee; and he did not want anyone to know, because he was instructing his disciples; he was telling them, ‘The Son of Man will be delivered into the hands of men; they will put him to death; and three days after he has been put to death he will rise again.’ But they did not understand what he said and were afraid to ask him.
They came to Capernaum, and when he was in the house he asked them, ‘What were you arguing about on the road?’ They said nothing because they had been arguing which of them was the greatest. So he sat down, called the Twelve to him and said, ‘If anyone wants to be first, he must make himself last of all and servant of all.’ He then took a little child, set him in front of them, put his arms round him, and said to them, ‘Anyone who welcomes one of these little children in my name, welcomes me; and anyone who welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.’
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To be ambitious as Jesus is
In the 2nd reading today, St.James tells us, “Whenever you find jealousy and ambition, you find disharmony and wicked things of every kind being done…”. In the gospel, there was disharmony among the disciples because of their ambition to be the greatest, to be the most important. Jesus, knowing their preoccupation with being the greatest, identified Himself as a little child whom the culture of that time considered to be the least. Jesus wanted His disciples to strive for true greatness by serving, and above all, to help those who are most vulnerable.
What is the secret ambition that we carry in our hearts? To be respected by everyone? To gain prestige? To have power? Jesus invites us to desire to be great in God’s eyes, which implies a daily conversion and purification of our minds and hearts so that we can allow Jesus to shape our values, words and actions.
Question for reflection:
Do I tend to ignore the call to be great in God’s eyes by humbling myself to serve others, especially to those society considers insignificant?
Do I tend to ignore the call to be great in God’s eyes by humbling myself to serve others, especially to those society considers insignificant?
