Saturday, September 19, 2009

The Fruit of Righteousness is Sown in Peace

September 20, 2009


Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time


By Rev. Joe McCloskey, S.J.


Let us see whether his words be true; let us find out what will happen to him. For if the just one be the son of God, he will defend him and deliver him from the hand of his foes. With revilement and torture let us put him to the test that we may have proof of his gentleness and try his patience. Wisdom 2:17-20


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." Mark 9:35-37


Piety


The urge to be the greatest is a force to be reckoned with and to be taped into by the way we live our lives. People do foolish things for the sake of power, honor or glory. There is a desire to be first in all of us. Prestige attracts our souls and can corrupt anyone. Living up to the good opinion of others challenges us to be better people. A good reputation helps us to be better people. We always want to do more for those who love us.


Humility has to be a part of our spirituality if we are truly going to be close to Christ in our lives. No one can deserve love. Love is a free gift for another. Justice is what we deserve. Wisdom from above is remedy for a jealousy that drives selfish ambition. The Word made flesh models our piety and the example of Christ models what our piety needs to look like when we put controls on the desires of selfish ambition. There is no escape from our own share in the passion of Christ if we are going to face down the disorders and the foul practices that disfigure our face of Christ. The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune test the mettle of all.


Goodness comes from involvement in efforts to improve the quality of life around us. Giving our lives for the sake of others gives us share in the passion of Christ. He saw his death coming and did not rush it so that he could educate his disciples. Christ associates greatness with the willingness to be the servant of all. No one likes to be taken advantage of and the notion of being the servant of all gives us a challenge that is difficult to respond to without giving up major control over what we are asked to do in life. It takes the working of the Holy Spirit to teach us how to respond to call Christ puts in our hearts.


Study


Christ gives us the example of a child to study if we want to honor the desire to be first that is in our hearts. First in the kingdom of heaven is different than first in the eyes of our world. Our world gives power, honor and glory first place. God gives us closeness to the lowly Christ for our heavenly ranking. Christ puts his arms around a child. His disciples were looking at being at his side as the measure of greatness in the Kingdom of God. Christ tells 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. “ The Last Judgment scene of Mt. 25, 40 reinforces this with the closeness belonging to what we do for the least ones of our lives. Christ is to be found in everyone who needs us. He is found in us when we need another. When Christ comes in his glory, everyone will want to be close to him. We can assure our closeness now by our closeness to the cross of Christ. It is not crowed there.


Action


We do what we do because it is our job. How we come to realize that life is more than a job is a special moment in all our lives. We can easily tire of what we do all the time. The Hidden Life Grace is discovered in prayer about all the years that Christ spent behind the scenes. He was known as the son of the Carpenter. That means he worked with Joseph and continued the work of Joseph after he died. His call came to him in the River Jordon with his Baptism and the voice of the Father saying “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. He had done nothing of note up to that point. The Father was applauding how he lived the hidden moments of his life. All the things he did that we have no knowledge of give meaning to the obscurity of our lives. We all have obscure times when no one notices us. How we react to the hidden moments of our lives can make us like to Christ who did the least things in his life with all his heart. In the mystery of the kingdom of God we are most like Christ when we do the ordinary of our lives in an extraordinary way. . The times of our life when we are not noticed, give us the opportunity to be like Christ in his hidden life. God is telling us with the hidden years of His Son that it is not what we do but with how much love we do what we are about that make us like Christ. What we do that the world notices are moments in any life. The hidden life grace means that in the kingdom of God only the insignificant is worthy of all-out efforts. Since it is not the job that is important, it has to be how we do what no one notices that makes us like Christ. Our greatness in the kingdom of heaven will come from the ways we are like Christ. We all have hidden moments where heaven will be our reward. Our claim to fame in heaven will be how close we were to the cross of Christ in our lives. The crosses of our lives and how we carried them with Christ will be our claim to fame in heaven. Doing well what no one sees or is able to thank us for will have its thanks in heaven.