Franciscan Friar Fr. Paul Gallagher reflects on the Gospel readings for the Twenty-fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time. Do you recall sacrifices your parents made to provide for you as you were growing up?
The content is edited by Franciscan Sister of Christian Charity Sister Anne Marie Lom and Joe Thiel. The excerpts from the Sunday readings are prepared by Joe Thiel. To read or download the complete pdf with excerpts for your prayer, please click here Franciscan Gospel Reflection September 22 2024. Excerpts are from the Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States of America, second typical edition © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC. Used with permission. All rights reserved. No portion of this text may be reproduced by any means without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
Mark 9:30-37
Jesus and his disciples left from there and began a journey through Galilee, but he did not wish anyone to know about it. He was teaching his disciples and telling them, “The Son of Man is to be handed over to men and they will kill him, and three days after his death he will rise.” But they did not understand the saying, and they were afraid to question him.
They came to Capernaum and, once inside the house, he began to ask them, “What were you arguing about on the way?” But they remained silent. 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 shall be the last of all and the servant of all.” 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, receives not me but the one who sent me.”
Background:
The text for last Sunday’s Gospel ended with Jesus telling the crowd, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it.” (Mark 8:34-35) While the text for this Sunday flows nicely from last week’s Gospel, a whole chapter separates this Sunday’s Gospel from the one for last week. Within that chapter, two significant events are recorded by Mark: the Transfiguration (Mark 9:2-8), and Jesus curing a boy possessed by a demon (Mark 9:14-27). After each of these events, the disciples question Jesus and he instructs them privately.
In the second sentence of the Gospel, Mark uses the phrase “handed over,” which was a familiar expression of the people of the day. The prophets were “handed over;” John the Baptist was “handed over;” the early Christian martyrs were also “handed over.” Here Mark uses that same common expression as Jesus speaks of his approaching death. The text also states that the disciples did not understand Jesus’ teaching, but they were afraid to inquire about its meaning. Two verses later, Mark reveals how much the disciples did not understand about Jesus being handed over. Mark states that while they were walking to Capernaum they had been arguing about which of them was the greatest.
Jesus’ question to the disciples about what they were arguing about would be understood by Mark’s community as rhetorical. Nothing is private in this culture. Also, the disciples’ arguing as they walked the hillsides would have been a conversation that everyone including Jesus overheard. In response, Jesus instructs them that if they wish to be great, they must become like the least, and servant to all. He places a small child before them to emphasize that they should be of service to those who have no status in their society, like children and servants who have no ability to repay their gesture.
To realize how shocking this instruction would have been for the disciples, one needs to suspend the western attitudes toward children where they are given preferential treatment. Their needs are taken care of first. But in the culture of Jesus’ day, children were not valued until they reached maturity. The life of a child was very fragile. As many as 30 percent of infants died before they were born, and 60 percent died before they were sixteen years of age. The prevailing attitude was that precious resources like food were not to be wasted on those who might not survive. This does not mean that children were not loved or appreciated. However, it does mean that they were treated very differently from what people of other cultures might presume.
What Jesus had done by embracing a child in front of his disciples would have been insulting to them, as men of his day, and as disciples. For any of them to treat a child as Jesus was suggesting would have made them the joke of the day among their neighbors. They had left their way of life to become his disciples. They already were being ridiculed by religious authorities of the day, and probably by their families as well. To be told that they should become like servants to a child would have been difficult to accept.
Reflection Questions:
- Do you recall sacrifices your parents made to provide for you as you were growing up?
- Why might Jesus have not wanted others to know where they were?
- When Jesus talks about being rejected and put to death, he uses the term “handed over.” What does the use of being “handed over” suggest to you?
- The text states the disciples were afraid to ask questions of Jesus. What are some reasons they might have been afraid to ask their questions?
- Have you ever been afraid to talk to God about something that was on your mind?
- Who are the servants in your community? Who are your servant heroes in the Church?
- The text reveals that there was competition among the disciples. Does that surprise you? What does it suggest to you that Jesus addresses the issue but does not abandon them as his disciples?
- Can you take some time to talk to God about what you experienced as you reflected on this Gospel text, the plight of children in our world today, or some other thoughts that arise within you from this text?
