A Lectio Divina Approach to the Sunday Liturgy
BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD (Series 4, n. 44)
25th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B – September 24, 2006
“A Living Reproach to the Unjust”
BIBLE READINGS
Wis 2:12, 17-20 // Jas 3:16-4:3 // Mk 9:30-37
N.B. This new series of BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD: A LECTIO DIVINA APPROACH TO THE SUNDAY LITURGY presents a biblico-liturgical study of the First Reading of each Sunday Mass to serve as background for a better understanding of the Gospel proclaimed in the liturgy. For a biblico-liturgical study of the Gospel for each Sunday, please go to the PDDM Web Archives: WWW.PDDM.US.
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS
I was born in the Philippines, in a small town near the slopes of the picturesque Mayon Volcano that is renowned for its beauty and its perfect cone. When I reminisce about the enchanting little town where I was born, I also remember our hardworking houseboy named Julian. A no nonsense orphan, it was his dream to go to school. My parents made arrangements so that he could be a working student. One day, when he was going to school to enroll and pay his tuition, his half-brother accosted him, asking for money. The half-brother grew up with bad companions and was involved in gambling and drinking. He detested Julian’s clean character and considered him obnoxious for he was a “good boy”. When he threatened Julian with a gun, the latter refused to give up his hard-earned money and his dream of a better future. The half-brother shot him to death. Our quiet neighborhood was convulsed by the dreadful violence inflicted on an innocent and lovable boy.
The conflict between good and evil is verified again and again in human experience. The life of Julian replicates that of the “just one” referred to in the Old Testament reading (Wis 2:12, 17-20) and the paschal destiny of the “Son of Man” mentioned in this Sunday’s Gospel reading (Mk 9:30-37). The life of the “just one” is a reproach to those who do evil. The authors of the Days of the Lord, vol. 5, comment on the Old Testament reading: “Those who do evil are intolerant of contradiction, whatever its form. They strive to silence it. But nothing is more unbearable to them than the living reproach and permanent challenge of the life of just persons in their midst. Unable to pressure the just to act as they themselves do, evil doers attempt to ruin the reputation of the just by showing them to be impostors whom God himself disowns (Wis 2:12, 17-20) … They attempt to justify their attacks; they appeal to quite honorable reasons … By not living like everyone else, the just become marginal … Through their very lives, led in conformity with God’s law, the just denounce the misconduct of the impious … This passage from the Book of Wisdom applies to a multitude of men and women of all times, persecuted, tortured, put to death because they stood, by their mere presence, unshakable witnesses to right and justice. It applies literally to the Just One par excellence.”
Christian tradition believes that Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of this passage. The unmerited injustice suffered by the “just one” mentioned by the Book of Wisdom adds poignancy and intensity to the figure of the Suffering Servant-Messiah delineated in the Gospel reading: “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.” Indeed, while the figure of the “just one” who patiently withstands insults and torture points to Jesus, the wicked ones who sought the destruction of the “just one” anticipate those who seek the suffering and death of Jesus.
Ironically, while Jesus was embracing his vulnerability and his paschal destiny, his uncomprehending disciples were competing for greatness. Ever the loving Sage and the Divine Master, Jesus thus utilized that incident to instruct and lead them in the righteous way of the Servant of God. The way of the “just one” is a life of service to the “poor ones of Yahweh”, a symbol of which is the little child around whom Jesus wrapped his arms.
The authors of the Days of the Lord, vol. 5, conclude: “The revelation of Jesus’ person and work progresses at the rhythm of his comings and goings from village to village. After Peter’s confession of faith at Caesarea Philippi, Jesus now is walking toward Jerusalem and his passion, leading the small group of disciples who have remained faithful to him. He supplements and explains in the house what he has told them on the way. In order to be the first in the kingdom opened by the crucified Messiah, we must, like him, become the last and the servants of all. Such a message runs counter to the statements, the laws, and the mores of the world. To proclaim such a message is to invite sarcasm and contempt. Moreover, to practice such a doctrine is to become a nuisance … Gathered around Jesus in the house, let us take the time to listen to and become imbued with his teaching.”
PERSONAL REFLECTION
By Esther Deutsch
Immaculate Conception Parish, Watertown, South Dakota – U.S.A.
It seems sometimes that Jesus should grow weary of our sins, our slowness to listen, our wretchedness, doesn’t it? After he teaches us time and time again, we are so quick to forget and fall back into our old ways. Shouldn’t he become frustrated with us?
In the ninth chapter of Mark, Jesus is trying to prepare his disciples for his coming passion, death and resurrection. First with his Transfiguration, the Father shows Jesus in all his glory, a pre-figuration of the glory that is to come in Heaven, in order to prepare his disciples for what is to come. He beseeches them to listen to his “beloved Son”. Then in verse 30, Jesus again verbally explains that he will be betrayed, killed, and in three days rise again. But the disciples are still confused, afraid to even ask him what this means. In all humility, they should have acknowledged their lack of understanding, their slowness, their stupidity to Jesus, for he already knew it. But instead, as they continue to journey with Jesus into Capernaum, they only argue about who is the greatest; who is the best. Who is the wisest, the most powerful, influential, the preferred? They are shamed to silence, knowing their pride, when Jesus calls them all together and says, “You want to be first? Then follow me in being the servant of all.” Not only in word does he explain the way to be first in the kingdom – he uses action too. He brings a child over and says, “When you welcome a little child, you welcome me.” In other Gospels, he says that we must become like little children in order to enter the kingdom of Heaven. Think of a small child. He is pure and innocent; untouched by the ways of the world, penetrated with the love of his Father and his eyes fixed on his Father’s action. When he falls down, he cries out in acknowledgment of his pitiful state, and has complete confidence that his Father will come to his aid.
Sometimes we are like the disciples. Though Jesus may be speaking loud and clear to us, we may still feel that we are in darkness, confused, afraid and proud. We may be ashamed and fear that Jesus will condemn us and grow tired of our lack of faith, of hope, of love. However, our God is a merciful God, slow to anger and rich in kindness. He desires to take us lovingly into his arms, as he did the little child. We have to cry out to him, and he will run to pick us up when we fall and hold us in his arms, as a good and loving Father. When we are slow to understand, he is patient with us. Fr. Jean C. J. d’Elbee, a French priest who writes on the spirituality of St. Therese, says, “Right away, in the present moment, I say to Jesus that I know that He loves me and that I love Him. His arms, His heart are always open, and I can take refuge there this instant, since my wretchedness, far from being an obstacle, is a springboard to propel me there” (I Believe in Love, 61).
As slow as we may be to hear and as fast as we may be to sin, Jesus’ heart is always open to us. May we not allow our wretchedness to become an obstacle in our race to Heaven, but may it be a springboard to propel us there. Every misery on our part gives us another chance to delve into God’s mercy. We become great in God’s eyes by not only welcoming a child, but also by humbling ourselves to become the children of God he has created us to be, and to rely on him for all our needs.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART
A. How do we respond to the permanent challenge of the just persons in our midst? Is the life of the “just one” a reproach to our sinful ways, or is it an invitation to conversion?
B. Are we ready to embrace the paschal destiny of the “Just One” par excellence, or do we evade the call to heroic and saving sacrifice by stagnating in willful ignorance and incomprehension?
C. What do we do when we are persecuted for the sake of justice and right? What do we do when people treat us with contempt when we endeavor to replicate in our life the paschal destiny of Jesus Christ, the ultimate “Just One” and the Suffering Servant-Messiah?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD
(Adapted from Days of the Lord, vol. 5, Collegeville: The Liturgical Press, 1993, p. 235)
Leader: To your disciples, you deliver the secret:
the Son of the living God walks toward death,
the Master of the universe is the servant of all.
Assembly: Lead us, Lord, on the way to eternity!
Leader: Human beings will kill the Son of Man,
but he will rise from the dead.
Those who want to be first,
let them be the last of all.
Those who welcome a child in my name
welcome me.
Assembly: Lead us, Lord, on the way to eternity!
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the week. Please memorize it.
“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 … If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.” (Mark 9:31-35)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION
A. ACTION PLAN: Pray for the just whose life of integrity is a living reproach to those who do evil. Endeavor to replicate in your everyday life the paschal destiny of the Divine Master who forms us in the ways of the just. By your life of service and witnessing to the light of truth, nurture the Christian call to goodness and justice. Try to rectify a death-dealing situation brought about by human frailties and wicked actions.
B. ACTION PLAN: To help us contemplate more deeply and thank the goodness and sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ, the “Just One” par excellence and the Suffering Servant-Messiah, make an effort to spend an hour in Eucharistic Adoration. Visit the PDDM WEB site (www.pddm.us) for the EUCHARISTIC ADORATION THROUGH THE LITURGICAL YEAR (Vol. 2, n. 44): A Weekly Pastoral Tool.
Prepared by Sr. Mary Margaret Tapang PDDM
PIAE DISCIPULAE DIVINI MAGISTRI
SISTER DISCIPLES OF THE DIVINE MASTER
60 Sunset Ave., Staten Island, NY 10314
Tel. (718) 494-8597 // (718) 761-2323
Website: WWW.PDDM.US