Tuesday of the Seventh Week of Ordinary Time II

May 21, 2024

Hello and welcome to the Word, bringing you the Good News of Jesus Christ every day from the Redemptorists of the Baltimore Province. I am Fr. Karl Esker from the Basilica of our Lady of Perpetual Help in Brooklyn, NY. Today is Tuesday of the Seventh Week of Ordinary Time.

Our reading today is from the holy 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. For 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.”

The gospel of the Lord

Homily

Our fifty days of rejoicing over Jesus’ victory over sin and death have come to an end. We have celebrated Pentecost and the sending of the Holy Spirit, who then sends the disciples and ourselves back into the world to spread the good news that Jesus’ victory is also our victory. And all of a sudden we are back in Ordinary Time. And, instead of great victories, we are made conscious of the reality of our own human weakness and sinfulness. Until we win the victory over our own self-interests, we cannot hope to win the victory over the world.

We see that in the gospel we just heard. Jesus is telling them what he will have to confront when they get to Jerusalem, but they are not listening. Instead, they were arguing over who was the greatest. I guess they wanted to strut their stuff: who the greatest preacher was; who worked the biggest miracle; who expelled the most demons, who brought in the most donations. So, Jesus has to bring them back down to earth: “If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.” They would be able to do nothing, if it were not given to them from above. If someone wants to be first, let them see a need and be the first to attend to it.

And then to emphasize his point, 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.” It is in our willingness to attend the least advantaged, that we become great in the eyes of God.

We see the same problem in the first reading from James. He calls the community of believers to task for the battles and conflicts among them. It seems that many are seeking greater recognition at the expense of others. James reminds them that seeking one’s own self-interest and satisfying one’s passions is the spirit of the world, which makes one an enemy of God, because “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” And he gives them this advice: “[S]ubmit yourselves to God. Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, and purify your hearts, ... Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will exalt you.”

This advice serves any Christian community in any age. We all know examples of people who work their way up to leadership in ministries or activities of their parish, who then try to make themselves indispensable and demand special consideration. We may even be guilty of that ourselves. So, before we start judging others, let us purify our own hearts first, recognizing that the capacity for good that we have comes from the grace of God. Let us humble ourselves, not by downplaying our abilities, but by placing them at the service of others, especially the most needy. Draw near to God in prayer. Let Jesus embrace you in his love and concern. It is only by overcoming our pride and self-interest that we can defeat the world and become great in the eyes of God.

May God bless you.

Fr. Karl E. Esker

Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help

Brooklyn, NY.,