Article for September 21

Wisdom 2: 12, 17-20                        Jas 3: 16- 4:3                        Mk 9: 30-37

You would think by now I would have learned.  It never ceases to amaze me how God breaks through into my life despite my best attempts to set my own agenda.  It really shouldn’t amaze because God did the same thing to Jesus in today’s gospel.  Mark tells us that “Jesus and his disciples left there and began a journey through Galilee, but he did not wish anyone to know about it”.  Jesus packed up the disciples and went on a road trip.  Yet this road trip will end in Jerusalem with suffering, death and resurrection.  This is the most important roads trip Jesus and the disciples will take.  In Jesus’ mind it is critical that he spend some time alone with his disciples. He needs to prepare them for the upcoming events in the hope that they will be able to continue the mission.  Jesus the teacher probably had an extensive lesson plan prepared as they left early that morning.  He knew what his goals and objectives were and he was prepared to complete them.  As they walked he explained to them that “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” Mark then tells us how the disciples reacted to this. He says, “But they did not understand the saying and they were afraid to question him”    When they got to Capernaum Jesus asked them what they were arguing about as they walked but he already knew the answer.  They were arguing about who was the greatest.  Imagine how Jesus felt. He was trying to get them to understand the kingdom of God and they were fighting about who was the greatest. Jesus’ agenda for the day had gone out the window and he was caught in the reality of the moment.  Despite his planning things did not happen his way.  Yet God had provided him with the opportunity to teach the most significant lesson about participation in God’s plan.  “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, revives not me but the One who sent me”.  The Spirit of God had broken through into the life of Jesus and turned a moment of frustration into a moment of great blessing.  For Jesus the day’s lesson had not gone according to plan yet God’s gift had taught a more important lesson for both Jesus and his disciples.  For the disciples it meant to grasp the kingdom one had to identify with the weak and the powerless and for Jesus it meant finding blessing in doing the will of God.  These lessons had to be taught and lived before the Resurrection could be understood.  We believe that if we organize our day and highly structure our lives we will be doing exactly what God wants us to do.  Well then how do we explain those moments of the day or times in or lives when things are not going our way?  We say that God is not listening to our prayer or is angry with us or doesn’t care.  Jesus could have said the same thing when his plan did not turn out.  Instead, he found God in the moment.  Dare I say a sinful moment because of the disciple’s pride?    Is it possible that in those moments when life isn’t going according to our plan that God is more present than ever and is calling us to a deeper relationship?  My faith and my experience tell me yes.