25th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Reading I: Wisdom 2:12, 17-20 Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 54:3-4, 5, 6 and 8 Reading II: James 3:16—4:3 Gospel: Mark 9:30-37
Jesus and his disciples continue to journey toward Jerusalem. While on the road, the disciples quarreled as to who was the greatest. Jesus could not let this pass uncorrected. The disciples became less and less inhibited from manifesting their aspirations for prestige and power. People are always interested to know who is the first. It became obvious for the disciples that discipleship was a steppingstone for a successful career in the kingdom. There was silence when Jesus asked them what they had talked about on the road. One cannot say in public that one is ambitious. They all knew the answer to Jesus’ question, but it would be a too embarrassing thing to reveal.
Jesus placed a child in their midst and put his arm around it. Children in the Bible get little attention, for they are of no significance. The child stands for all the people who do not count, are not considered in decision-making, have no power or prestige and are dependent on service by others. They can be the little in faith, the ignorant, the economically helpless or the morally weak. By placing before them a little child who is powerless and without status in society, Jesus reminds them to receive the little ones in his name. It cannot be for their sake or for their gain.
Efren Tomas
In 2004, Father Efren arrived on Maui, Hawaii to be the Pastor of Christ The King Catholic Church in Kahului, Maui until 2012. He calls Christ The King his home because this was his first parish in Hawaii.
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