Wisdom 2:12, 17-20; James: 3:16--4:3; Mark 9:30-37 One man who had an enormous
impact on his company was the founder and former CEO of Wendy's fast-food restaurants,
Dave Thomas. Dave Thomas' life was a remarkable success story. Adopted as a child,
he never finished high school. In his book, ‘Well Done’: the Common Guy's Guide to
Everyday Success, Dave said he got his MBA long before his G.E.D. He says he has a
photograph of himself in his MBA graduation outfit--a snazzy knee-length work apron.
He claims to be the only founder among America's big companies whose picture in the
corporate annual report shows him wielding a mop and a plastic bucket. That wasn't
a gag. He calls it leading by example. At Wendy's, he says, MBA doesn't mean Master
of Business Administration. It means Mop Bucket Attitude. It means a commitment to
service. Dave Thomas, who died in 2002, had a commitment to service. That's what Jesus
wants from his disciples--a Mop Bucket Attitude. We exist to serve, not to be served.
That's the secret of happiness in any job--to see it as a calling, a vocation, an
opportunity.
Today’s readings invite us to become great in the sight of God
by doing God’s will, as Jesus did, surrendering our lives in the service of others.
The passage from the Book of Wisdom sounds like a messianic prophecy similar to the
“Suffering Servant” prophecy in Isaiah. It refers to Christ’s passion and urges us
to choose the path of righteousness in spite of painful consequences, as Jesus did.
In today’s psalm, the psalmist prays for help against the insolent people who rise
against the upright. The second reading is in tune with the dispute among the apostles
about who is the greatest. James warns us that selfish ambitions destroy peace and
cause conflicts and war. He advises us to choose the path of righteousness and humble
service which leads to lasting peace. Jesus, in today’s gospel, gives us a glimpse
of the path proposed by the first and second readings—namely, loving him in others
by embracing the vulnerable in our midst: the defenceless children, the despairing
poor, the terrified, the mentally ill, the marginalized, the disabled, the refugees
of war. Jesus also teaches his apostles that child-like humility and loving, selfless
service make one great in the eyes of God.
The Book of Wisdom was written in
Greek in Alexandria of Egypt in the first century (around 100 BC), for "the Diaspora,"
the Jews living in pagan cities, such as the cosmopolitan city of Alexandria. The
“just one” described in today’s selection may have been a real person, or perhaps
he was simply a symbol of Israel, patterned after Isaiah’s Suffering Servant. But
many Fathers of the Church consider this passage to be a messianic prophecy of Jesus’
fate at the hands of his own people, presenting him as a “Suffering Servant.” The
passage refers to a righteous sufferer and points to Jesus' crucifixion. Both the
“just one” and Jesus were innocent victims of the jealous and selfish ambition of
their opponents. Jesus was the righteous one par excellence. When those who opposed
him were unable to undermine the success of his ministry, they plotted to get rid
of him. Thus, Jesus became the ideal model of how one should continue faithfully on
the path of righteousness despite immense obstacles, leaving the outcome in God’s
hands. This reading tells us how the world often ill-treats those who strive to live
justly and do God’s will.
James is emphatic about the contrast between spiritual
wisdom and earthly wisdom. The apostle states that conflicts and disputes in our
country, local communities, churches and families come from our inordinate desires,
jealousy, worldly cravings and selfish ambition. Most of our personal conflicts, and
sins like slander, stealing and adultery, stem from our desire to possess what we
do not have. Today’s gospel also speaks about such a dispute among the apostles.
James contrasts jealousy and selfishness with the wisdom from above that produces
a harvest of righteousness. Besides warning us to avoid jealousy and selfish ambition,
James describes true wisdom as “pure, then peaceable, gentle, compliant, full of mercy
and good fruits, without inconstancy or insincerity.”
In the Gospel we have
Jesus returning to Capernaum after journeying incognito through the Northern Province
of Galilee, avoiding crowds and teaching the apostles. Mark presents Jesus predicting
about his suffering and death. The response by Jesus' disciples was horror and disappointment
because they had been dreaming of a political messiah who would usher in an earthly
kingdom. Hence, an argument arises among the disciples as to who among them is the
greatest. The second part of today’s gospel describes Jesus’ return to Peter’s house
in Capernaum, where he gives his apostles a picture of what true greatness is. Washington
Irving once wrote, "Great minds have purposes, little minds have wishes." All these
men had, was a wish--a wish for greater status, a wish to stand in Jesus' spotlight
and soak up some applause. Jesus wanted them to look beyond their own selfish wishes
to embrace the purposes of God.
The Christian criterion of greatness: Jesus
says that people who serve humbly and lovingly are the greatest. He uses a play on
an Aramaic word that can mean either servant or child. Presenting a child before
them, Jesus explains that one who wishes to be the first among them must be a servant
to all. True greatness consists in loving service of one's fellow men and is never
self-centered. It lies in the ability to see and respond to the needs of others and
it presupposes compassion and sympathy. The two conditions of true greatness are humility
and loving service. This vocation to loving service belongs to the Church as a whole
and to every member of the Church. In other words, the Christian vocation is an
apostolate of bearing witness to Christ through loving service. Christian history
teaches us that whenever the members of Christ’s Church have forgotten or ignored
this call to service, the Church has suffered.
Jesus stands conventional wisdom
on its head. The truly great person is a diakonos − a deacon − a servant − a person
who spends his/her day taking loving care of other people. What does it mean when
Jesus states that those who want to be the first must be the last? Probably, Jesus
is speaking of his life and death in the spirit of his being a loving Servant and
being considered the last, the loser. Jesus wants his apostles to substitute for their
ambition to rule, thus becoming the first, the ambition to serve, thus becoming the
last. We are all supposed to be serving in love, whatever our position or role in
society, the family or the Church may be, because true greatness lies in being the
loving servant or slave of all.
By setting a child before them, Jesus asked
his disciples to be like the child, loving, innocent and humble, suggesting the importance
of these virtues and attitudes. A child represents the most powerless member of any
society, a person who has no power, no influence, a person who can be controlled,
abused, neglected or spoiled and rendered selfish by others. By introducing the
example of a child, Jesus also shows us that, when serving others, we must be careful
to serve the least important. This means that the Christian must show hospitality
to those who have no social status: the outcast, the sinner, the sick and the feeble.
In other words, the Christian must serve all of God's children with love, regardless
of whether they are friends or foes. Why? Because such people represent Jesus in our
midst and, hence, they must be lovingly welcomed, respected and helped. In this passage,
Jesus also tells us that we must care for the unwanted, neglected, abused and ignored
with love, because then we really love and serve Jesus and his heavenly Father.
Life messages: # 1: We must become great through loving, humble, self-giving
service. Greatness, in Jesus' view, is found in our willingness to accept, welcome
and serve with love those who are considered unacceptable and undeserving by reason
of class, colour, religion, wealth or culture. We must welcome people the loving
way a child welcomes them before he is taught discrimination. If we are to be truly
great, we must be ready to accept four challenges: (1) to put ourselves last, (2)
to be the servant of all, (3) to receive the most insignificant human beings with
love, and (4) to expect nothing in return. During the holy Mass let us pray for the
true spirit of service, for an attitude of love for those around us. We need to ask
the Holy Spirit to help us to become truly great through loving, humble and selfless
service. Mother Teresa puts it like this: “Be the living expression of God's kindness
through humble service. Show kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness
in your smile and kindness in your warm greeting.” The Missionaries of Charity, the
order founded by Mother Teresa, live by this motto: “The fruit of Silence is Prayer.
The fruit of Prayer is Faith. The fruit of Faith is Love. The fruit of Love is Service.
And the fruit of Service is Peace.”