20240922 TRUE GREATNESS IN STEWARDSHIP
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 |
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 Acclamation | Jn8:12 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
I am the light of the world, says the Lord;
anyone who follows me will have the light of life.
Alleluia!
Or: | cf.2Th2:14 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Through the Good News God called us
to share the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Alleluia!
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.’
22 September 2024, Sunday, 25th Week in Ordinary Time
TRUE GREATNESS IN STEWARDSHIP
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Wis 2:12, 17-20; Ps 54:3-6,8; Jas 3:16 – 4:3; Mk 9:30-37]
In the world today, everyone wants to be exalted. People seek wealth, power, glory and fame. Greed and ambition rule the hearts of man. We want to have more wealth and power so that we can be famous, admired by people, honoured by society, treated differently and served like royalty. This explains why people are ruthless in offices, society and even in Church! Because life for them is to climb to the top so that they can control everyone and have everyone at their beck and call. Yet, if we were to ask these people whether they are really happy in the process of striving to reach the top, and even when they reach the top, the truth is that this kind of life only brings death.
As St James wrote, “Wherever you find jealousy and ambition, you find disharmony, and wicked things of every kind being done.” We find ourselves always envying those who are better than us and we desire to take over their positions or acquire their wealth and status. There is no rest and peace in our hearts. Every day, we are fighting and struggling with our competitors. Often, such competition leads to evil, fraud, manipulation, dishonesty, bribery and corruption because of selfishness and insecurity. Indeed, when we do not find peace and joy in our hearts in spite of our success and achievements, what is the reason? St James asked, “Where do these wars and battles between yourselves first start? Isn’t it precisely in the desires fighting inside your own selves?”
But worst of all, our hearts and minds can become so obsessed with satisfying our desires that when our evil desires and selfishness are pointed out to us, we become hostile and react against those who seek to help us find the right perspective of life so that we might not live our lives in vain. Instead of seeing the prophets that God sends to us as His desire to help us live a life of wisdom, we perceive them as our enemies instead. The godless in the book of wisdom say to themselves, “Let us lie in wait for the virtuous men, 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.”
Hence, we must turn to Jesus who is the Wisdom of God in person to teach us to live a life of wisdom, of purity, peace and goodness. He made it a point to instruct His disciples who were competing with each other for greatness. More so because they were envious of each other, perhaps, with the appointment of Peter as the rock of the Church, giving him the keys of authority by the Lord, and being among the privileged ones to encounter the Lord in His transfiguration whilst the other nine disciples were left behind at the foot of the mountain, incapable of casting out an evil spirit from a boy suffering from epilepsy. Indeed, insecurity always breeds destructive conflicts, battles of the ego, and even killing. This was why the Lord prepared them for His imminent suffering and rejection by His enemies and opponents. In the context of His imminent death, all discussions about who is the greatest and most important became irrelevant. Indeed, in the context of our own death, what does it matter how rich or how important we were? We cannot carry a cent over to the next life, and very soon, we will also be forgotten in history. In the context of death, everything is seen in perspective.
Greatness does not lie in what we do or what we achieve. We must not confuse greatness with being the best. To be the greatest is not Christian, but to be the best is the most Christian thing. It does not mean that striving to be the best is wrong. In fact, we must always strive to be the best in everything we do and become the person we are meant to be. But being the best does not mean that we have to compare ourselves with others or put others down so that we can be on top. When we seek to do our best, we are competing against ourselves and not with anyone else. We strive to be the best because we want to give glory to God, not to seek glory for ourselves. We strive to be the best so that we can help build a loving, peaceful and compassionate humanity. We strive to be the best for others! St James says, “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.”
The foundation of greatness is in God who makes us all great in Him. We are made in His image and likeness. We are His children. This is more than any other labels we have for ourselves. All of us have the same value in the eyes of God. We have all been given the same gift of eternal life in Christ, regardless of our status on earth. We are all equal when it comes to being heirs of God in Christ. No one is deprived of the free gift of salvation in Christ. Unfortunately, most of us take the free gifts of God for granted. While we might say that God’s gifts are the most important, yet in truth we value those things that we have earned ourselves. The Lord used the example of a child who was considered the least in society and yet the greatest. The greatest thing on earth is not to be known as the President or the CEO but to be a child of God. Jesus guided His disciples to look at people in a new way, not by the standards of the world.
He exalts us by appointing us to be His personal representative in spite of our unworthiness. We are called to be God’s ambassadors.“He set a child in front of them, put his arms round him, and said, ‘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.'” In other words, we are all God’s representatives on earth. It is God who gives us our identity as God’s children and blesses us with talents and opportunities so that we can reflect His goodness to others.
Hence to be exalted, we must in turn exalt Him by giving ourselves as He did in humble and selfless service. The whole life of Jesus was to give glory to His Father. In the final analysis, greatness lies in humble service to all. “If anyone wants to be first, he must make himself last of all and servant of all.” Yes, we say to ourselves, we want to make this country great again, we want to make our Church great again. What do we mean when we say we want to make ourselves great again? Great in terms of status, power, glory and wealth? Or great in terms of love, service, compassion and humility? Jesus invites us to change our priorities. Jesus redefined greatness, especially in leadership as one who serves and makes himself last of all. Whatever we do, we do it for the greater glory of God. (cf Col 3:23f)
Finally, we exalt the Lord by being a martyr or a witness ready to commit ourselves even unto death. Being martyrs for Christ requires that we are ready to stand up for Jesus by our words and by our actions. Success for our Lord is being nailed to the cross and being hung up as a spectacle for all to see and to die in shame. Admiration means to let the world humiliate and abuse us. And this is to prove that we are genuine in love and service. For godless people are watching us to see whether our words match our lives. They say, “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 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 prove them wrong by our life of wisdom and compassion.
For us who want to serve God and His people, especially if we are appointed leaders, all the more, we must purify our intentions and motives. Jesus was certainly a man who was focused in His mission. He gave Himself wholeheartedly to the proclamation of the Good News of the Kingdom. He was met with much opposition, but He was not discouraged. Instead, He submitted to His Father’s will even when His mission would seemingly end in failure on the cross. It must have been difficult for Jesus to accept. But because He was seeking to do the Father’s will and not His own, He was willing to be led by the Father in doing good. We too, if we are willing to give up even our dreams if demanded by the Lord, we can be sure that we are fulfilling our vocation and not our ambition. We must discern His will for us.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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