Twenty-fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time Lees meer
Twenty-fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time
First Reading
Wisdom 2,12.17-20
Let us lay traps for the upright man, since he annoys us and opposes our way of life, reproaches us for our sins against the Law, and accuses us of sins against our upbringing. Let us see if what he says is true, and test him to see what sort of end he will have. For if the upright man is God's son, God will help him 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 patience to the test. Let us condemn him to a shameful death since God will rescue him -- or so he claims.'
Second Reading
James 3,16-4,3
Wherever there are jealousy and ambition, there are also disharmony and wickedness of every kind; whereas the wisdom that comes down from above is essentially something pure; it is also peaceable, kindly and considerate; it is full of mercy and shows itself by doing good; nor is there any trace of partiality or hypocrisy in it. The peace sown by peacemakers brings a harvest of justice. Where do these wars and battles between yourselves first start? Is it not precisely in the desires fighting inside your own selves? You want something and you lack it; so you kill. You have an ambition that you cannot satisfy; so you fight to get your way by force. It is because you do not pray that you do not receive; when you do pray and do not receive, it is because you prayed wrongly, wanting to indulge your passions.
Reading of the Gospel
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Yesterday I was buried with Christ,
today I rise with you who are risen.
With you I was crucified;
remember me, Lord, in your kingdom.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Mark 9,30-37
After leaving that place they 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 power 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 got into the house he asked them, 'What were you arguing about on the road?' They said nothing, because on the road 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 whom he set among them and embraced, and he said to them, 'Anyone who welcomes a little child such as this in my name, welcomes me; and anyone who welcomes me, welcomes not me but the one who sent me.'
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Yesterday I was buried with Christ,
today I rise with you who are risen.
With you I was crucified;
remember me, Lord, in your kingdom.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Homily
Jesus and the disciples "went on from there and passed through Galilee." These words from the Gospel of Mark bring us into the journey that Jesus had just begun from Galilee to Jerusalem. The journey that the Lord makes with the disciples symbolizes life's journey, the journey of spiritual growth, much like the journey we are called to make with the Lord, Sunday after Sunday during each liturgical year. While walking along the road, Jesus speaks with his disciples. This time he does not seem like a teacher, but rather like a friend who opens up his heart to his closest friends. He tells them, "The Son of Man is to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him." This is the second time he spoke to them about this. Once again, however, not one of the disciples comprehends Jesus' thoughts and feelings.
Upon arriving at a house in Capernaum, Jesus asks them what they were discussing, but "they were silent," the evangelist notes. Their silence is a sign of the shame for what they had discussed. And that was good. Shame is the first step toward conversion. Shame, in fact, is born from recognizing one's distance from Jesus and from the Gospel. Sunday is the day of forgiveness because we are able to draw near once again to the Lord who speaks to us, who questions us, who permits to us to become aware of our poverty and our sin.
The evangelist writes, "Jesus sat down, called the twelve," and began to explain the Gospel to them again. Each community should gather together around the Gospel to listen to the Lord's teaching, to correct their behaviour, and to fill their hearts and minds again with Jesus' thoughts and feelings. Turning upside down the mentality of the world Jesus tells us: "Whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, 44and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all" (Mk 9:35). He says that first is the one who serves, not the one who commands. And so that we would better understand what he wanted to say, Jesus takes a small child, embraces him and puts him at the centre of the group of disciples. This centre is not just a physical centre, but is also the centre of attention, of concern and of the heart. That child - that is the little ones, the weak, the poor - should be at the centre of the Christian communities' attention for "Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me." In the little ones, the weak, the defenceless, the poor, the sick, in those whom society discards and pushes away, Jesus, even the Father himself, is present.
Het gebed is het hart van het leven van de Gemeenschap van Sant’Egidio. Het is haar eerste “werk”. Aan het einde van de dag komt elke Gemeenschap, of die nu klein of groot is, samen bij de Heer om het Woord te beluisteren en zich tot Hem te richten in het gebed. De leerlingen kunnen niet anders dan aan de voeten van Jezus zitten, zoals Maria van Bethanië, om het “betere deel” te kiezen (Lc 10, 42) en van Hem zijn gezindheid te leren (vgl. Fil 2, 5).
Elke keer dat de Gemeenschap zich tot de Heer richt, maakt ze zich die vraag eigen van de anonieme leerling: “Heer, leer ons bidden!” (Lc 11, 1). En Jezus, meester in het gebed, antwoordt: “Wanneer jullie bidden, zeg dan: Abba, Vader”.
Wanneer we bidden, ook in de geslotenheid van ons eigen hart, zijn we nooit alleen of verweesd. Integendeel, we zijn leden van de familie van de Heer. In het gemeenschappelijk gebed wordt naast het mysterie van het kindschap, ook dat van de broederschap en zusterschap duidelijk.
De Gemeenschappen van Sant’Egidio, verspreid over de wereld, verzamelen zich op de verschillende plaatsen die gekozen zijn voor het gebed en brengen de hoop en het verdriet van de “uitgeputte en hulpeloze mensenmenigte” waarover het Evangelie spreekt (Mt 9, 37) bij de Heer. Deze oude menigte omvat de inwoners van onze hedendaagse steden, de armen die zich bevinden in de marge van het leven, en iedereen die wacht om als dagloner te worden aangenomen (vgl. Mt 20).
Het gemeenschappelijk gebed verzamelt de schreeuw, de hoop, het verlangen naar vrede, genezing, zin en redding, die beleefd worden door de mannen en vrouwen van deze wereld. Het gebed is nooit leeg. Het stijgt onophoudelijk op naar de Heer opdat verdriet verandert in vreugde, wanhoop in blijheid, angst in hoop, eenzaamheid in gemeenschap. En het rijk Gods zal spoedig temidden van de mensen komen.
