To dominate or to serve? This is the choice that emerges from this Sunday’s readings. It is an important decision, as our daily lives may be shaped by it, either for better or for worse.
In the second reading, St. James warns us against jealousy, rivalries, and the pursuit of the highest positions, for they are sources of discord among people and put our Christian lives at risk.
To illustrate his point, St. James refers to the dissensions and rivalries that existed among the Christians of his community, with some using every means to overpower others. The apostle notes that such behavior inevitably leads to conflict and estrangement from God. Even prayer suffers, becoming flawed and ineffective.
St. James reminds us that we must allow ourselves to be shaped and guided by God in order to become peacemakers — peace built on righteousness, tolerance, and justice.
Peacemakers have always been needed, and today more than ever, as conflicts of all kinds abound. But in order to become sowers of peace, we must implore God’s wisdom, which is above all, love for others, self-forgetfulness, a willingness to welcome others, and a desire for harmony, along with the practice of prayer to discern God’s will for us.
These reflections prepare us to open our hearts to the teachings of the Gospel. The Gospel gives us, first and foremost, a lesson in humility and a spirit of service.
The context is rather tragic: while Jesus announces His Passion for the salvation of the world, His disciples are arguing about which one of them is the greatest. They are still dreaming of an earthly kingdom and advancement that would bring them prestige and power. Isn’t this a sad picture that we should take as a serious warning?
Jesus teaches us that we are all children of the same God and Father, and each of us has a role to play: that of serving, not dominating!
To illustrate this, Jesus performs a significant gesture: He takes a child — a symbol of weakness — and embraces him. Then, He explains: whoever shows care for the weak, the small, the poor, those who count for nothing… it is Christ Himself they are welcoming, and through Him, God the Father:
“Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but the One who sent me.” (Mark 9:37)
Wisdom 2:12, 17-20 / James 3:16 – 4:3 / Mark 9:30-37
From the Gospel according to Mark
Jesus and his disciples left from there and began a journey through Galilee,
but he did not wish anyone to know about it.
He was teaching his disciples and telling them,
“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.”
But they did not understand the saying,
and they were afraid to question him.
They came to Capernaum and, once inside the house,
he began to ask them,
“What were you arguing about on the way?”
But they remained silent.
They had been discussing among themselves on the way
who was the greatest.
Then he sat down, called the Twelve, and said to them,
“If anyone wishes to be first,
he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.”
Taking a child, he placed it in their midst,
and putting his arms around it, he said to them,
“Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me;
and whoever receives me,
receives not me but the One who sent me.”
For today’s readings, please refer to Vatican News.
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