Article for September 24 the 25th Sunday in Ordinary time
Wis 2: 12, 17-21 Jas 3: 16-4:3 Mk 9:30-37
I don’t like taking exams. I recently switched my driver’s license to the State of Maryland and I had to take an eye examination. I passed. Yet there was a certain degree of uneasiness until I walked out of the office with license in hand. Assessments can be uncomfortable because they give us an indication of how we are doing. Sunday’s scripture readings define the requirements for entering the Kingdom of God and challenge us to examine our spiritual life. The first reading from the book of wisdom quotes the wicked as saying “Let us beset the just one, because he is obnoxious to us”. The reason the just one is obnoxious is because he points out the inconsistencies in the life of the wicked. Most of us are pretty good at being the just one. We have no problem pointing out the inconsistencies of others. We realize that we were put on this earth to straighten everyone else out and lead them to a better way. Of course that way is usually our way. Unfortunately, that type of attitude puts us in the wicked group. So is the conclusion that being just leads to wickedness? Not necessarily. The first readings mention two qualities that can temper our interaction with those around us. Those qualities are gentleness and patience. In the gospel reading Jesus explains to his disciples that he “is to be handed over to men and they will kill him” Yet his disciples respond by “discussing among themselves who was the greatest”. Rather than be angry with the men who would carry on his mission Jesus placed a child in their midst and said “Whoever receives one child just as this in my name, receives me”. With patience and gentleness Jesus points out to his disciples that arguing about greatness is useless in God’s kingdom. He makes his point without hurting those whom he was trying to teach. Sometimes those who have offended us realize they have done so. Other times they do not. Either way when we have been hurt we can accomplish reconciliation by our gentleness in the midst of wrongdoing. When was the last time you were an “instrument of peace’ after being offended? The second reading from the letter of James challenges us to make an assessment of how wise we are. He describes wisdom as “peaceable, gentle, compliant, and full of mercy and good fruits, without inconsistency or insincerity”. I’m not sure that our world would define wisdom in the same way. Yet all of us have encountered people who have had a lasting impression upon us who had these qualities. What kind of lasting impression will we leave? Our society has been described as a restless society. I wonder if James was speaking to us when he said “you covet but you do not possess”. What is it that we are trying to accomplish with our lives? How long are our wish lists as opposed to our list of real needs? James continues “You ask but do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions”. Are you always tired? Perhaps we should reassess where we place our energy. A few years ago I was with a man who was dying of cancer. He expressed the desire to be reconciled with the church. As we spoke he told me, “I never did give up my religion I just replaced with work for too many years”. We can’t experience God’s kingdom unless we have a passion for it. Finally the Psalmist challenges us to remember that “The Lord upholds my life”. Each of us needs to pause and consider if we act as if we believe this or merely mumble the words.