Texts taken from the Missalette “On Your Word” September-October 2024

25th Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)
1st week of the psalter

FIRST READING

From the Book of Wisdom (Wis 2:12,17-20)
[The wicked said:] “Let us lie in wait for the righteous, because he is inconvenient to us and opposes our actions; he reproaches us for our sins against the law and accuses us of transgressions against the education we received. Let us see whether his words are true, and let us consider what will happen to him in the end. For if the righteous man is the son of God, he will come to his aid and deliver him from the hands of his adversaries. Let us put him to the test with violence and torture, so that we may know his gentleness and test his endurance. Let us condemn him to a shameful death, for according to his words, help will come to him.” - The word of God. 

Commentary on the first reading

When a person’s goodness becomes apparent within a group, the others’ negative feelings are unleashed against that person. If there is a saint in a friars’ convent, someone may feel a subtle sense of annoyance simply because the saint’s virtues highlight his own mediocrity. If everything is gray, flat, ordinary, then one can live “well” and our conscience reproaches us for nothing; but if someone arises in our group who is always helpful, helps everyone, never gets angry, whose prayer obtains miracles, and who reacts wonderfully in the face of adversity, we may have these feelings: either we feel that we must imitate his virtues and therefore thank the Lord for giving us an extraordinary person who lives near us, or we become so annoyed that we want to remove from our midst the one who, before our eyes, constantly reminds us of our mediocrity and inadequacy. The saint inspires us to be saints, and from this arises the eternal struggle between good and evil, which contend within us for supremacy.

SECOND READING

From the Letter of Saint James the Apostle (Jas 3:16 - 4:3)
My brothers and sisters, where there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there is disorder and every kind of evil practice. But the wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peaceable, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace for those who cultivate peace. Where do the wars and conflicts among you come from? Is it not from your passions that make war within your members? You covet but do not possess; you kill and envy but cannot obtain; you fight and wage war. You do not possess because you do not ask. You ask but do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. - The word of God.

Commentary on the second reading

The Letter of Saint James takes up the theme of today’s first reading: the spiritual struggle between good and evil. But it tells us something new: wisdom, and therefore goodness, is not found within us as something immediate and spontaneous, but “comes from above,” from God. God’s goodness is given to us, and we receive it. To fight our various passions, we must therefore ask, humbly plead, and receive the Spirit of God, who extinguishes the fire of our cravings and transforms conflicts and wars into acts of goodness and mercy. On our own, we win no spiritual battle and overcome no sinful inclination. “You do not possess because you do not ask,” Saint James tells us. It could not be clearer. The spiritual life is founded on the prayer of petition, because we do not even possess the breath we are taking at this moment, nor do we control the heartbeat beating in our chest right now. Everything is given to us, but this is a need born of love, and in love we humbly ask for everything. Only the proud person never asks for anything, not even to be saved.

GOSPEL OF THE DAY

From the Gospel according to Mark (Mk 9:30-37)
At that time, Jesus and his disciples were passing through Galilee, but he did not want anyone to know. For he was teaching his disciples and telling them: “The Son of Man is to be handed over to men, and they will kill him; but three days after his death, he will rise.” But they did not understand these words, and they were afraid to question him. They came to Capernaum. Once inside the house, he asked them, “What were you discussing 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 must be the last of all and the servant of all.” Then he took a child, placed him in their midst, and, embracing him, said to them: “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.” - The word of the Lord.

Commentary on the Gospel of the day

Why did the apostles not understand the Lord’s words, which were so clear? If I tell a friend that in a few months I will be arrested by the Carabinieri and then killed in prison, I am not saying anything enigmatic: one may believe or not believe, rebel against the news or accept it as a prophecy that will come true, but the sentence is open to no misunderstanding. Perhaps the expression “three days after my death, I will rise” could have remained more obscure to the apostles, but they only had to ask: “Excuse me, Lord, what does it mean that you will rise?” The explanation for the apostles’ “not understanding” could be that they did not want to understand; they refused in advance to accept that truth because, in their eyes, the Master and Messiah could not be killed, but had to triumph over the masses and assert his power. They had a preconceived plan and were unwilling to question it. Since they did not have the simplicity of little children, Jesus’ response was to make it clear that without the spirit of a child who trusts completely, one cannot welcome God and remains trapped in one’s own darkness. And that child who trusted the Lord blindly because he loved him, Jesus embraced. Beautiful, isn’t it?