September 19, 2021

Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B)

In today’s Gospel (Mk. 9:30-37), as Jesus continues to travel toward Jerusalem, he makes his Second Passion Prediction, but he also teaches us something about wisdom. However, this is not just the type of wisdom found in books, like Psalms, Proverbs, or Ecclesiastes. Rather, it is God’ s wisdom which is the living embodiment of Christ. We can detect this wisdom especially when it contrasts with the behavior of those with whom Jesus interacts along the way.

We see it first in the reading from the book of Wisdom (Wis. 2:12, 17-20). It is a quote from “The Wicked,” those who oppose Jesus the most, like the scribes and Pharisees of the Gospels. We often see them discussing Jesus and trying to trap him, just like the way it is described in today’s reading; “Let us beset the just one, because he is obnoxious to us; he sets himself against our doings, reproaches us for transgressions of the law and charges us with violations of our training.” (Wis. 2:12).

There are many good examples of this type where Jesus berates the Jewish leaders for their hypocrisy. One includes the following: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of filth. Even so, on the outside you appear righteous, but inside you are filled with hypocrisy and evildoing.” (Mt. 23:27-28).

Even though Jesus has this type of contempt for his enemies, they show how they think they are wiser and more superior than Jesus. They even test him: “For if the just one be the son of God, God will help him and deliver him from the hand of his foes.  With revilement and torture let us put the just one to the test that we may have proof of his gentleness and try his patience.” (Wis. 2 :18-19).

This type of quote is something which is well reflected in the Passion Narratives as Jesus is goaded by his foes to come down from the cross. However, one example of a prudent response which might reflect the wisdom and trust in God of Jesus is seen in our Responsorial Psalm (Ps. 54:3-8): “O God, by your name save me and by your might defend my cause. For the haughty have risen up against me. Behold, God is my helper; the Lord sustains my life.” (Ps. 54:6b-8). In this example, despite all of the threats and taunts Jesus has received from his enemies, his divine knowledge assures that he will be justified.

It is not only the enemies of Jesus who demonstrate wisdom which is inferior to that of God’s Son. It also occurs with “The Twelve,” those closest to Jesus. They are disciples and, as such, are supposed to be students. But sometimes they are not very bright. The Second Reading from James (Jas. 3:16-4:3) offers some insight into their problem.

For example, as they continue through Galilee, Jesus speaks of his passion and death. “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.’” And then we are told: “But they did not understand the saying, and they were afraid to question him.” (Mk. 9: 31-32).

Jesus notices that they have been arguing, and once inside the house at Capernaum, the passage continues, “’What were you arguing about on the way?’ But they remain silent, because they had been discussing among themselves on the way who was the greatest.” (Mk. 9:33-34).

The disciples have no understanding of the wisdom which will be shed by the passion and resurrection of Jesus. Instead, they display their inability to comprehend what it means by arguing over who is greatest. It is a wisdom from above: a divine wisdom “pure, peaceable, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, without inconstancy or insincerity. It is the fruit of righteousness, sown in peace for those who cultivate peace.” (Jas. 3:17-18).

It has nothing to do with the “conflicts which are among them” (Jas. 4:1), nor the jealousy, self-ambition, covetousness, or envy. With finality, Jesus performs an action to emphasize his point in a most profound way. He calls the Twelve and taking a child he places it in their midst and putting his arms around it he says 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.” (Mk. 9:37).

At the time of Jesus, this child would have represented the lowest of society: irrelevant and marginalized in stature, barely visible. Yet Jesus placed him at the forefront of this incident.

Wise acceptance of Jesus is about radical self-giving and innocence, that which is brought by the passion and resurrection.