Wednesday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary
Time
Lectionary: 349
Lectionary: 349
Beloved:
Realize that you were ransomed from your futile conduct,
handed on by your ancestors,
not with perishable things like silver or gold
but with the precious Blood of Christ
as of a spotless unblemished Lamb.
He was known before the foundation of the world
but revealed in the final time for you,
who through him believe in God
who raised him from the dead and gave him glory,
so that your faith and hope are in God.
Since you have purified yourselves
by obedience to the truth for sincere brotherly love,
love one another intensely from a pure heart.
You have been born anew,
not from perishable but from imperishable seed,
through the living and abiding word of God, for:
"All flesh is like grass,
and all its glory like the flower of the field;
the grass withers,
and the flower wilts;
but the word of the Lord remains forever."
This is the word that has been proclaimed to you.
Realize that you were ransomed from your futile conduct,
handed on by your ancestors,
not with perishable things like silver or gold
but with the precious Blood of Christ
as of a spotless unblemished Lamb.
He was known before the foundation of the world
but revealed in the final time for you,
who through him believe in God
who raised him from the dead and gave him glory,
so that your faith and hope are in God.
Since you have purified yourselves
by obedience to the truth for sincere brotherly love,
love one another intensely from a pure heart.
You have been born anew,
not from perishable but from imperishable seed,
through the living and abiding word of God, for:
"All flesh is like grass,
and all its glory like the flower of the field;
the grass withers,
and the flower wilts;
but the word of the Lord remains forever."
This is the word that has been proclaimed to you.
Responsorial
PsalmPS 147:12-13, 14-15,
19-20
R. (12a) Praise
the Lord, Jerusalem.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Glorify the LORD, O Jerusalem;
praise your God, O Zion.
For he has strengthened the bars of your gates;
he has blessed your children within you.
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He has granted peace in your borders;
with the best of wheat he fills you.
He sends forth his command to the earth;
swiftly runs his word!
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He has proclaimed his word to Jacob,
his statutes and his ordinances to Israel.
He has not done thus for any other nation;
his ordinances he has not made known to them. Alleluia.
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
or:
R. Alleluia.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Glorify the LORD, O Jerusalem;
praise your God, O Zion.
For he has strengthened the bars of your gates;
he has blessed your children within you.
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He has granted peace in your borders;
with the best of wheat he fills you.
He sends forth his command to the earth;
swiftly runs his word!
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He has proclaimed his word to Jacob,
his statutes and his ordinances to Israel.
He has not done thus for any other nation;
his ordinances he has not made known to them. Alleluia.
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
or:
R. Alleluia.
AlleluiaMK 10:45
R. Alleluia,
alleluia.
The Son of Man came to serve,
and to give his life as a ransom for many.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Son of Man came to serve,
and to give his life as a ransom for many.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelMK 10:32-45
The disciples were on the way, going up to Jerusalem,
and Jesus went ahead of them.
They were amazed, and those who followed were afraid.
Taking the Twelve aside again, he began to tell them
what was going to happen to him.
"Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man
will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes,
and they will condemn him to death
and hand him over to the Gentiles who will mock him,
spit upon him, scourge him, and put him to death,
but after three days he will rise."
Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee,
came to Jesus and said to him,
"Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you."
He replied, "What do you wish me to do for you?"
They answered him,
"Grant that in your glory
we may sit one at your right and the other at your left."
Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you are asking.
Can you drink the chalice that I drink
or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?"
They said to him, "We can."
Jesus said to them, "The chalice that I drink, you will drink,
and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized;
but to sit at my right or at my left is not mine to give
but is for those for whom it has been prepared."
When the ten heard this, they became indignant at James and John.
Jesus summoned them and said to them,
"You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles
lord it over them,
and their great ones make their authority over them felt.
But it shall not be so among you.
Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant;
whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all.
For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve
and to give his life as a ransom for many."
and Jesus went ahead of them.
They were amazed, and those who followed were afraid.
Taking the Twelve aside again, he began to tell them
what was going to happen to him.
"Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man
will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes,
and they will condemn him to death
and hand him over to the Gentiles who will mock him,
spit upon him, scourge him, and put him to death,
but after three days he will rise."
Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee,
came to Jesus and said to him,
"Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you."
He replied, "What do you wish me to do for you?"
They answered him,
"Grant that in your glory
we may sit one at your right and the other at your left."
Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you are asking.
Can you drink the chalice that I drink
or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?"
They said to him, "We can."
Jesus said to them, "The chalice that I drink, you will drink,
and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized;
but to sit at my right or at my left is not mine to give
but is for those for whom it has been prepared."
When the ten heard this, they became indignant at James and John.
Jesus summoned them and said to them,
"You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles
lord it over them,
and their great ones make their authority over them felt.
But it shall not be so among you.
Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant;
whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all.
For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve
and to give his life as a ransom for many."
Meditation: "Are you able to drink
the cup that I drink?"
Why did Jesus, the Messiah, have to suffer and die for
us? Jesus called himself the "Son of Man" both to identify himself
with our human condition, subjected to pain and death, and with his divine
mission to restore the world to the glory God had intended from the beginning
of creation. The 'Son of Man' is a prophetic title for the Messiah recorded in
the prophecy of Daniel (see the Book of Daniel 7:13-14). In Jesus' time the
Jewish people were looking for a Messiah who would set them free from the
oppressive rule of Rome. Jesus came to set people free from the worst
oppression of all - the tyranny of endless slavery to sin, Satan, and death.
Jesus came to bring us into a new covenant relationship with God that would not
end with death but lead to everlasting peace, joy, and abundant new life.
Why did the Messiah have to suffer rejection,
condemnation, and death on a cross?
On no less than three different occasions the Gospel accounts record that Jesus predicted he would endure great suffering through betrayal, rejection, and condemnation to tortuous death. The Jews resorted to stoning and the Romans to crucifixion - the most painful and humiliating death they could devise for criminals they wanted to eliminate. No wonder the apostles were greatly distressed at such a prediction! If Jesus their Master were put to death, then they would likely receive the same treatment by their enemies.
On no less than three different occasions the Gospel accounts record that Jesus predicted he would endure great suffering through betrayal, rejection, and condemnation to tortuous death. The Jews resorted to stoning and the Romans to crucifixion - the most painful and humiliating death they could devise for criminals they wanted to eliminate. No wonder the apostles were greatly distressed at such a prediction! If Jesus their Master were put to death, then they would likely receive the same treatment by their enemies.
Why did Jesus freely and willingly lay down his life
for us? Did not God promise that his 'Anointed One' (the literal meaning of
'Messiah' and 'Christ' in Hebrew and Greek) would deliver his people from their
oppression and establish a kingdom of peace and justice? The prophet Isaiah had
foretold that it was God's will that the "Suffering Servant" make
atonement for sins through his suffering and death (Isaiah 53:5-12). Jesus paid
the price for our redemption with his own blood. The ransom Jesus paid sets us
free from the worst tyranny possible - the tyranny of sin and the fear of
death. Jesus' victory did not end with death but triumphed over the tomb when
he rose again on the third day. Jesus defeated the powers of death through his
resurrection. Do you want the greatest freedom possible, the freedom to live as
God truly meant us to live as his sons and daughters?
Jesus weds authority with sacrificial love and service
Jesus did the unthinkable! He wedded authority with selfless service and with loving sacrifice. Authority without sacrificial love is brutish and self-serving. Jesus also used stark language to explain what kind of sacrifice he had in mind. His disciples must drink his cup if they expect to reign with him in his kingdom. The cup he had in mind was a bitter one involving crucifixion. What kind of cup does the Lord have in mind for us? For some disciples such a cup entails physical suffering and the painful struggle of martyrdom. But for many, it entails the long routine of the Christian life, with all its daily sacrifices, disappointments, set-backs, struggles, and temptations.
Jesus did the unthinkable! He wedded authority with selfless service and with loving sacrifice. Authority without sacrificial love is brutish and self-serving. Jesus also used stark language to explain what kind of sacrifice he had in mind. His disciples must drink his cup if they expect to reign with him in his kingdom. The cup he had in mind was a bitter one involving crucifixion. What kind of cup does the Lord have in mind for us? For some disciples such a cup entails physical suffering and the painful struggle of martyrdom. But for many, it entails the long routine of the Christian life, with all its daily sacrifices, disappointments, set-backs, struggles, and temptations.
Through death to self we serve and reign with Christ
our victorious Lord
A follower of Jesus must be ready to lay down his or her life in martyrdom and be ready to lay it down each and every day in the little and big sacrifices required. An early church father summed up Jesus' teaching with the expression: to serve is to reign with Christ. We share in God's reign by laying down our lives in humble service as Jesus did for our sake. Are you willing to lay down your life and to serve others as Jesus did?
A follower of Jesus must be ready to lay down his or her life in martyrdom and be ready to lay it down each and every day in the little and big sacrifices required. An early church father summed up Jesus' teaching with the expression: to serve is to reign with Christ. We share in God's reign by laying down our lives in humble service as Jesus did for our sake. Are you willing to lay down your life and to serve others as Jesus did?
"Lord Jesus, your death brought life and freedom.
Make me a servant of your love, that I may seek to serve rather than be served,
and share in your victory over sin, suffering, and death."
Daily Quote from the early church fathers: The way to glory and honor, by
Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"Ponder how profound this is. They were
conferring with him about glory. He intended to precede loftiness with humility
and, only through humility, to ready the way for loftiness itself. For, of
course, even those disciples who wanted to sit, the one on his right, the other
on his left, were looking to glory (Matthew
20:20-23; Mark 10:35-40). They were on the lookout, but did not
see by what way. In order that they might come to their homeland in due order,
the Lord called them back to the narrow way. For the homeland is on high and
the way to it is lowly. The homeland is life in Christ; the way is dying with
Christ (Matthew 6:25; Mark 8:35; Luke 9:24; 17-33). The way is suffering with
Christ; the goal is abiding with him eternally. Why do you seek the homeland if
you are not seeking the way to it?" (excerpt
from TRACTATE ON JOHN 28.5.2.13)
WEDNESDAY,
MAY 30, MARK 10:32-45
Weekday
(1 Peter 1:18-25; Psalm 147
KEY VERSE: "Whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant" (v 43).
TO KNOW: For the third time, Jesus told his disciples of his coming passion and death, yet they still did not fully comprehend his words. Two brothers, James and John, told Jesus that they would do whatever he asked if he would guarantee them a place of honor in the kingdom. Jesus asked them if they were as willing to share his suffering as they were his glory. Jesus must drink the bitter cup of his destiny in Jerusalem and be immersed in the bath of pain (Eucharist and Baptism, sacramental symbols of Christ's dying and rising). It was not Jesus' place to assign positions of authority and respect. All who aspired to greatness should imitate Jesus who served others and offered himself for the sake of all.
TO LOVE: Is achieving recognition for what I do my greatest ambition?
TO SERVE: Lord Jesus, help me to become a servant like you.
Weekday
(1 Peter 1:18-25; Psalm 147
KEY VERSE: "Whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant" (v 43).
TO KNOW: For the third time, Jesus told his disciples of his coming passion and death, yet they still did not fully comprehend his words. Two brothers, James and John, told Jesus that they would do whatever he asked if he would guarantee them a place of honor in the kingdom. Jesus asked them if they were as willing to share his suffering as they were his glory. Jesus must drink the bitter cup of his destiny in Jerusalem and be immersed in the bath of pain (Eucharist and Baptism, sacramental symbols of Christ's dying and rising). It was not Jesus' place to assign positions of authority and respect. All who aspired to greatness should imitate Jesus who served others and offered himself for the sake of all.
TO LOVE: Is achieving recognition for what I do my greatest ambition?
TO SERVE: Lord Jesus, help me to become a servant like you.
Wednesday 30 May
2018
1 Peter 1:18-25. Psalm 147:12-15, 19-20. Mark 10:32-45.
Praise the Lord, Jerusalem—Psalm 147:12-15, 19-20.
What is true glory?
Today’s readings highlight the continuous struggle in which we
find ourselves being pulled between the superficial and the authentic. As James
and John learn at the coalface however, it is much more challenging than
initially anticipated.
The pair wishes to be seated on either side of Jesus and share
in his glory, but Jesus reveals that it isn’t about revelling in power but
enduring a lifetime of service. Similarly, in today’s first reading Peter
writes about an authentic, deep love, one, which endures forever. Both seem
attractive. The question is which side of the ring do you wish to be on: the
superficial with its attractive easiness, or the authentic with its enduring
qualities.
Saint Joan of Arc
Saint of the Day for May 30
(January 6, 1412 – May 30, 1431)
Saint Joan of Arc’s Story
Burned at the stake as a heretic after a politically-motivated
trial, Joan was beatified in 1909 and canonized in 1920.
Born of a fairly well-to-do peasant couple in Domremy-Greux
southeast of Paris, Joan was only 12 when she experienced a vision and heard
voices that she later identified as Saints Michael the Archangel,
Catherine of Alexandria, and Margaret of Antioch.
During the Hundred Years War, Joan led French troops against the
English and recaptured the cities of Orléans and Troyes. This enabled Charles
VII to be crowned as king in Reims in 1429. Captured near Compiegne the
following year, Joan was sold to the English and placed on trial for heresy and
witchcraft. Professors at the University of Paris supported Bishop Pierre
Cauchon of Beauvis, the judge at her trial; Cardinal Henry Beaufort of
Winchester, England, participated in the questioning of Joan in prison. In the
end, she was condemned for wearing men’s clothes. The English resented France’s
military success–to which Joan contributed.
On this day in 1431, Joan was burned at the stake in Rouen, and
her ashes were scattered in the Seine River. A second Church trial 25 years
later nullified the earlier verdict, which was reached under political
pressure.
Remembered by most people for her military exploits, Joan had a
great love for the sacraments, which strengthened her compassion toward the
poor. Popular devotion to her increased greatly in 19th-century France and
later among French soldiers during World War I. Theologian George Tavard writes
that her life “offers a perfect example of the conjunction of contemplation and
action” because her spiritual insight is that there should be a “unity of
heaven and earth.”
Joan of Arc has been the subject of many books, plays, operas
and movies.
Reflection
“Joan of Arc is like a shooting star across the landscape of
French and English history, amid the stories of the Church’s saints and into
our consciousness. Women identify with her; men admire her courage. She
challenges us in fundamental ways. Despite the fact that more than 500 years
have passed since she lived, her issues of mysticism, calling, identity, trust
and betrayal, conflict and focus are our issues still.” (Joan of Arc: God’s
Warrior, by Barbara Beckwith)
Saint Joan of Arc is the Patron Saint of:
France
Military Members
Military Members
LECTIO DIVINA: MARK 10:32-45
Lectio Divina:
Wednesday, May 30, 2018
Ordinary Time
1) OPENING PRAYER
Lord,
guide the course of world events
and give Your Church the joy and peace
of serving You in freedom.
You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
guide the course of world events
and give Your Church the joy and peace
of serving You in freedom.
You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) GOSPEL READING - MARK
10:32-45
The disciples were on the way, going up
to Jerusalem, and Jesus went ahead of them. They were amazed, and those who
followed were afraid. Taking the Twelve aside again, he began to tell them what
was going to happen to him. "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the
Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they
will condemn him to death and hand him over to the Gentiles who will mock him,
spit upon him, scourge him, and put him to death, but after three days he will
rise." Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus and said to
him, "Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you." He
replied, "What do you wish me to do for you?" They answered him,
"Grant that in your glory we may sit one at your right and the other at
your left." Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you are asking.
Can you drink the chalice that I drink or be baptized with the baptism with
which I am baptized?" They said to him, "We can." Jesus said to
them, "The chalice that I drink, you will drink, and with the baptism with
which I am baptized, you will be baptized; but to sit at my right or at my left
is not mine to give but is for those for whom it has been prepared." When
the ten heard this, they became indignant at James and John. Jesus summoned
them and said to them, "You know that those who are recognized as rulers
over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones make their authority
over them felt. But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be
great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will
be the slave of all. For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve
and to give his life as a ransom for many."
3) REFLECTION
• Today’s Gospel narrates the third
announcement of the Passion and, once again, like in the previous times, it
shows us the incoherence of the disciples (cfr. Mk 8:31-33 and Mk 9:30-37).
Jesus insists on service and on the gift of one’s own life, and they continue
to discuss about the first places in the Kingdom, with one at the right and the
other on the left of the throne. Therefore, everything indicates that the
disciples continue to be blind. This is a sign that the predominant ideology of
the time had profoundly penetrated their mentality. In spite of having lived
several years with Jesus, they had not changed their way of seeing things. They
saw Jesus now, as they had seen Him at the beginning, and they wanted to be
rewarded for following Jesus.
• Mark 10:32-34: The third
announcement of the Passion. They were on the way to Jerusalem. Jesus
walked in front of them. He was in a hurry. He knew that they would kill Him.
The prophet Isaiah had announced it (Is 50:4-6; 53:1-10). His death was not the
result of a blind destiny or of a pre-established plan, but the consequence of
His commitment to the mission which He assumed and received from the Father
together with the excluded of His time. This is why Jesus warns His disciples
concerning the torture and death which He will suffer in Jerusalem. The disciple
has to follow the Master, even if it is a matter of suffering with Him. The
disciples were terrified, and those who were behind were afraid. They
did not understand what was happening. Suffering was not in agreement with the
idea that they had of the Messiah.
• Mark 10:35-37: The petition
for the first place. The disciples not only do not understand, but
they continue with their own personal ambitions. James and John ask for a place
in the glory of the Kingdom, one at the right and the other on the left of
Jesus. They want to even be before Peter! They do not understand Jesus. They
are only concerned about their own personal interests. This shows clearly the
tensions and the little understanding existing in the communities at the time
of Mark. These even exist today in our communities. In the Gospel of Matthew it
is the mother of James and John who addressed this request for her sons (Mt
20:20). Probably, because of the difficult situation of poverty and growing
lack of work at that time, the mother intercedes for her sons and tries to
guarantee an employment for them in the coming of the Kingdom of which Jesus
spoke about so much.
• Mark 10:38-40: The response of
Jesus. Jesus reacts firmly: “You do not know what you are
asking!” And He asks if they are able to drink the cup that He, Jesus,
will drink and if they are ready to receive the baptism which He will receive.
It is the cup of suffering, the baptism of blood! Jesus wants to know if they,
instead of a place of honor, accept to give up their life to the point of
death. Both answer: “We can!” It seems to be a spontaneous
answer, not having thought about it, because a few days later, they abandoned
Jesus and left Him alone at the hour of suffering (Mk 14:50). They do not have
a critical conscience. They do not perceive their personal reality. Regarding
the place of honor in the Kingdom at the side of Jesus, this is granted by the
Father. What He, Jesus, can offer, is the chalice and the baptism, suffering
and the cross.
• Mark 10:41-44: “Among you this
is not to happen”. At the end of His instruction about the Cross,
Jesus once again speaks about the exercise of power (Mk 9:33-35). At that time,
those who held power in the Roman Empire did not bother about the people. They
acted only according to their own interests (Mk 6:17-29). The Roman Empire
controlled the world and maintained it submitted by the force of arms and,
thus, through the tributes, the taxes, duties, succeeded in concentrating the
wealth of the people in the hands of a few in Rome. The society was
characterized by the repressive and abusive exercise of power. Jesus had
another proposal. He said: “Among you this is not to happen! With you it is
not like that; but anyone who wants to become great among you must be your
servant, and anyone who wants to be first among you must be slave to
all”. He teaches against privileges and against rivalry. He overturns
the system and insists on service, as a remedy against personal ambition. The
community has to present an alternative for human living together.
• Mark 10:45: The summary of the
life of Jesus: Jesus defines His mission and His life: “For
the Son of man Himself came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life
as a ransom for many.” Jesus is the Messiah Servant, announced by the
Prophet Isaiah (cfr. Is 42:1-9; 49:1-6; 50:4-9; 52:13-53:12). He learned from
His mother who said to the Angel: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord!” (Lk 1:38).
A totally new proposal for the society of that time. In this phrase in which He
defines His life, three more ancient titles appear, used by the first
Christians to express and to communicate to others what the following meant for
them: Son of Man, Servant of Yahweh, He who redeems the excluded (the one who
liberates, who saves). To humanize life, to serve the brothers and sisters, to
welcome the excluded.
4) PERSONAL QUESTIONS
• James and John ask for the first
places in the Kingdom. This thought is a prideful assumption that they deserve
it. Do I ask for a first place when I pray? Do I just assume it is mine? How does
this manner of thinking reconcile with saying “I am an unprofitable servant”?
• The one who wants to be first in the
Kingdom must be “a slave of all.” The Church Fathers taught that Pride is the
root sin. A slave has no pride, only humility and obedience. Where do I exert
my own will, among others and among my community? How would my relationships be
different if I were more humble?
• To be “a slave of all.” To do this
today while maintaining our leadership responsibilities requires re-framing
those relationships. How do I lead, manage, or instruct others as a slave of
others?
5) CONCLUDING PRAYER
Yahweh has made known His saving power,
revealed His saving justice for the nations to see,
mindful of His faithful love
and His constancy to the House of Israel. (Ps 98:2-3)
revealed His saving justice for the nations to see,
mindful of His faithful love
and His constancy to the House of Israel. (Ps 98:2-3)
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