Breaking Open the Word
25th Sunday of Ordinary Time
September 22, 2024
Introduction
Who is the greatest? The disciples were discussing this question on the way to Capernaum. Don’t we often ask this question? In our society, we are always vying for a place of importance. We want to be the best mother or father, best wife or husband, best boss, best soccer player, first chair in the band, star of the play, valedictorian. But is this what God wants for us? In the Kingdom of God are His people always competing against each other to be the BEST? Jesus provides the answer to this question in our Gospel today. And as usual His answer surprises His disciples.
Gospel Explained
Jesus taught His followers the true meaning of greatness or leadership. Greatness or leadership does not mean power but service. Power strangles life and brings a slow death. But service brings life, even from death itself. To emphasize Jesus' vision of leadership, He gives them the example of serving a child.
Unlike our society, children were the least important people in ancient cultures; children had the status of slaves. People had children to serve them and provide financial security in their elderly years. And they had many children, because the morality rate for children under 16 years of age was 50 percent. Childhood was a precarious time in the ancient world.
To serve someone as lowly as a child was an act of extreme humility. Serving one like a child showed true leadership for they served the ignored and the helpless. Who was the "child" of which Jesus spoke? Who is the Christian to serve? The Christian is to show hospitality those who have the social status of the child: the outcast, the sinner, the sick and feeble. The Christian is also to show hospitality to all of God's children, regardless of their status as friend or foe.
Today's Theme
Jesus’ call is not only to serve the less fortunate and outcast but also to do so with the heart of a child, to act with pure goodness as our motivation. As C.S. Lewis in his book Mere Christianity once explained, “Believers are in a different position from other people who are trying to be good. These hope, by being good, to please God, if there is one; or—if they think there is not—at least they hope to deserve approval from men. But the Christian thinks any good he does come from the Christ-life inside him. He does not think God loves us because we are good, but that God makes us good because he loves us.”
Unfortunately, truly good people are often labeled by society as Goody-goody, Goody-two-shoes, Teacher’s pet, Saint So and So. The motivation of good people is often questioned, and their sincerity is held suspect. Those whose authentic goodness is expressed in words and works of goodness are accused of grabbing attention or of trying to make a name for themselves. Misjudged, the good are often mistreated or ignored. Because their very presence causes a certain discomfort, they are sometimes excluded from conversations and social gatherings.
By virtue of their integrity, and because their holy and wholesome lives confront us with our own faults and failures, the good people among us become the innocent victims of our wrath, abuse and hatred. Like an external conscience, their goodness makes our sinfulness even more obvious by comparison. This is especially true in our culture today. Our first reading from the book of Wisdom was keenly insightful about the attitude of the wicked toward those who are good and just. “The wicked say: Let us beset the just one, because he is obnoxious to us; he sets himself against our doings…” (Wisdom 2:12).
Theme in our Life Today
We all have the opportunity and the responsibility to exercise goodness and leadership in our lives. But, as the gospel points out, goodness and leadership means service. It means setting aside our selfish desires to care for others' needs while showing them great respect.
In our second reading from the letter of Saint James, Christians living together in community are to be characterized by the phrase, “See, how they love one another!” When we fall short of this ideal, to which we have been called, it is because we have refused to acquiesce to God’s will and have chosen instead to gratify our own desires. Saint James identified the root of all temptation as desire. In response to those who blame such desires and temptations on God or on Satan, James insisted that the roots of evil and sin lie within the human heart. To overcome this presence within, we can open our hearts to the gift of God’s grace and seek the wisdom that comes from above (James 3:17).
What is the wisdom that we will receive from God’s grace? James lists 8 words to describe the preciousness of God’s wisdom. “But the wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peaceable, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, without inconstancy or insincerity” (James 3:17). When authentic wisdom is recognized and appreciated within the community, peace rules and the conflicts and disputes that are instigated by unchecked desires are dismissed. Our goal to receive God’s grace and allow His wisdom to direct our desires.
Prepare for Sunday
Spend time in prayer reflecting on these questions:
When have I experienced true goodness and Christian leadership?
How do I respond to the goodness I experience in others?
How can I let go of my desire to be the greatest and replace it with a burning desire to serve others?