The Universal Church invites us to celebrate Sunday, September 22, 2024, as the twenty-fifth Sunday in ordinary time, year B. In the Entrance Antiphon, we pray: “I am the Saviour of all people, says the Lord. Whatever their troubles, I will answer their cry, and I will always be their Lord. Amen.”
In the first reading, from the Book of Wisdom, the wise man says that the just man, who takes God and his commandments seriously, is a challenge to the godless. That is why there will always be tension between the just and the unjust, the good and the evil.
In the second reading, Saint James asks us to overcome injustice through justice and dissension through reconciliation because true wisdom promotes peace and harmony in society. In the Gospel, Saint Mark shows Jesus taking the road to Jerusalem that leads to his death. Last Sunday, he told his disciples that he would suffer and die and rise again on the third day. Peter, speaking for the others, had rejected what they all see as the folly of the cross. Christ now takes them apart and continues to instruct them and prepare them for the life after him. He instructs them on the things he had said in public but which his followers had not fully understood. Hence, for the second time, he announces his death and resurrection and warns them against the dangers of yearning for earthly positions of authority and power.
In the course of this Eucharist, let us pray for the courage to carry our own cross behind our Lord so as not to abandon him when the going is tough, as his disciples do during his Passion. May we receive the grace to remain faithful to our vocation in life, come rain, come shine. Amen.
First Reading: Wisdom 2: 12. 17-20.
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.
Comment
The Book of Wisdom was originally written in Greek and that is why it does not appear in the Hebrew Bible. Martin Luther and other Protestant Reformers of the 16th century followed the Jewish practice and excluded the Book of Wisdom from their own Bible, under the pretext that it was not divinely inspired. But, at the Council of Trent (1546), the Latin Church included the Book of Wisdom among the sacred canonical books, which the first Vatican Council endorsed in 1870. Even though the book does not mention King Solomon, it is usually attributed to him on account of his reputation for wisdom.
Historically, the Book of Wisdom is thought to have been the last book of the Old Testament to have been written. It was originally written in the Greek that was spoken in the cities of Lower Egypt after the conquest of that zone by Alexander the Great in the last third of the 4th century BC.
The Greek culture at the time of this book was so attractive that many Jews began to abandon Jewish culture in favour of Greek culture. So the author’s main purpose is to warn the Jews that their culture has nothing to envy from the dominant Greek culture. He has a clear religious goal in mind, that is, to set wisdom in the context of the profound faith in the God of Israel, the one and only God. His faith leads him not only to praise wisdom as a virtue but to also depict wisdom as a divine attribute. Moreover, he puts forward a religious interpretation of history as being the history of salvation and provides a clear overview of the history of the chosen people and of their dealings with other peoples. With this, he calls on the Jewish people to be proud of their divinely-inspired culture.
The Book of Wisdom is divided into three parts. Chapters 1 – 6, from where the reading of the day is taken, can be summarized as wisdom and man’s destiny. In chapters 7 – 9 the wise man discusses the nature and role of wisdom and in chapters 10 – 19, he talks about wisdom at work in history.
The passage selected for our meditation shows how the godless person speaks and the way he treats those who choose to follow God. The godless is not going to leave the God-fearing man in peace. Not content with enjoying the pleasures of life, the ungodly go further to persecute the just man because he is a constant reproach to them. The ungodly wants to see if God, whom the just man calls his father, will protect and rescue him. If God is his father, they say, let us see what protection God gives him. If God fails to come to his aid, then they are proved right, and the just man is wrong.
For his part, the just man calls himself a “child of God”. This title is applied in all righteousness, and more properly to the Messiah, who is the Righteous One. The author of the Book Wisdom is very much inspired by the Servant songs of Second Isaiah, which we saw in the first reading of last Sunday. The Suffering Servant is the one who will, through his suffering, set Israel free of its sins. This is how Isaiah prepares the way for the revelation of Jesus Christ, Son of God and Servant of the Lord.
Let us pray in the course of this Mass for the Holy Spirit to strengthen our faith so we can refrain from behavior that tends to persecute others instead of upholding their dignity. We make our supplication through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Second Reading: James 3:16 – 4:3.
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.
Comment
The passage of this day’s meditation talks about the qualities of Christian wisdom. After exhorting us to manifest our wisdom by our actions – faith without action is a dead faith – Saint James now attacks the signs of false wisdom and explains the qualities of what true wisdom is, or should be.
Saint Paul also makes the distinction between worldly wisdom – the wisdom of a man who strays from the right path – and the wisdom of God, which reaches its highest expression on the Cross (1 Cor 18 – 3:3). For his part, Saint James pays particular attention to the practical effects of godly wisdom, which is characterized by meekness, mercy, and peace.
False wisdom, on the contrary, leads to bitter zeal, rivalry, and resentment. It is earthly because it rejects things that are heavenly. It befits people who follow their natural instincts that are contrary to God’s Spirit. Such people are not peacemakers because they cannot create around themselves an environment that makes for holiness. Saint Pope John XXIII says “There can be no peace between men unless there is peace within each of them: unless, that is, each one builds up within himself the order wished by God.”
When Saint James talks of the harvest of righteousness being sown in peace, he calls on us to keep the law of the Gospel by doing good works and taking care of the poor and the needy. He tells me that every Christian, who strives to live following his or her vocation, is a sower of holiness and justice. As Saint Jose Maria Escriva de Ballaguer, the founder of the Opus Dei movement says, “Through your work, through the whole network of human relations, you ought to show the charity of Christ and its concrete expression in friendship, understanding, human affection and peace. Just as Christ went about doing good work throughout Palestine, so must you also spread peace in your family circle, in civil society, at work, and in your cultural and leisure activities.”
Let us pray to the Holy Spirit to give us the wisdom to sow peace and harmony wherever we find ourselves this day. We make our supplication through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Gospel acclamation: “Alleluia, alleluia. God has called us through the Gospel to possess the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Alleluia.”
Gospel: Mark 9: 30-37.
After leaving the mountain 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.”
Comment
Although Jesus is moved when he sees the crowds like sheep without a shepherd (Mt 9: 36), he leaves them aside to devote time to carefully instruct his Apostles. He retires with them to out-of-the-way places, and there he explains points of his public preaching which they have not understood (Mt 13: 36). In this day’s Gospel reading, Jesus specifically, and for the second time, announces his death and resurrection as he secretly travels with his disciples through Galilee, taking time to instruct them about how the Son of Man will be delivered into the hands of men, who will put him to death. Last Sunday, he told his followers for the first time that he was going to be killed and rise again from the dead after three days. We saw how quick Peter was to rebuke him for saying such a thing.
None of his disciples understands how the Messiah they are expecting to free Israel from Roman bondage (Lk 24: 21) can talk of letting himself be killed and rise again after death. That is why, despite the gravity of what the Lord has said, his disciples’ minds are still on earthly things. They are arguing among themselves about who is the greatest and who is going to occupy a place of honour in Christ’s kingdom. They are jostling for positions of power, wondering who is going to be the Prime Minister and who is going to occupy what ministerial post in Jesus’ government. They have definitely not understood him and Saint Mark says “They did not understand what he said and they were afraid to ask him.”
However, to demonstrate to his Apostles the abnegation and humility needed in his ministry, Jesus takes a child in his arms and explains to them the meaning of his gesture: if they receive for his sake those who are of little importance in the eyes of the world, it would be as if they were embracing Christ himself and the Father who has sent him. This little child that Christ embraces represents every child in the world and everyone who is needy, helpless, poor, or sick.
Jesus offers a permanent challenge to his followers to welcome the powerless, and to take to heart the weakest members of the community. Special hospitality should be offered to those from whom we can benefit the least. Though great, Christ humbles himself and becomes the servant of all, even washing the feet of Judas, who was to betray him.
What lesson do I draw from this day’s Gospel reading? First of all, I hear that for me to become important before God, I do not have to boss it over others. It is by serving them, not bossing over them, that I will find salvation. Service is the path to true greatness. I also hear that I should refrain from unholy ambition that will make me proud. Ambitious persons think of themselves first, while in Christ’s eyes, it is the other person who counts. It is like John the Baptist who wants to grow smaller so Christ can grow bigger.
It would take the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost for the Apostles to fully understand what Christ was telling them that day. Years later, Saint Peter would write to the bishops of the Church about their obligation to take care of the flock God had entrusted to their care (1 Pet. 5:1-3). The higher one is in the hierarchy of the Church, Saint Peter says, the greater one’s obligation to serve others. This truth is seen in the title that has long been reserved for the Pope, the Holy Father, the Supreme Pontiff: Servus Servorum Dei, the Servant of the servants of God.
So let us pray, in the course of this holy Mass, that the Church to be endowed with good shepherds, who know how to serve, especially the weak, the orphan, and the widow. Let us say this prayer for Pope Francis.
Heavenly Father, we come before You with gratitude for the gift of Pope Francis, our spiritual leader and shepherd of the Church. We ask You to bless him abundantly with wisdom, courage, and strength as he guides us in our faith. Grant him the grace to continue leading with humility and compassion, reflecting Your love and mercy to all people. Surround him with Your protection, and fill his heart with the peace that surpasses all understanding. Help him to be a beacon of hope and unity in a world that is often divided and troubled. May his leadership inspire us to live out our faith more fully, to love one another more deeply, and to seek justice and peace in our communities. We entrust Pope Francis to Your care, knowing that You are always with him and guiding him in his mission. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
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Feel free to adapt this prayer to better fit your personal or community needs.Amen.
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