Here is the text of the homily I shared with those who came to pray with us today: some thoughts about how to understand one of the most difficult lessons that Jesus had to each to his disciples.
This weekend’s gospel places us with the disciples at a time when we might say that they were still at teachers’ college. There were no buildings and no classrooms at the time; instead, they were travelling through Galilee and Jesus was trying to teach them some very complicated concepts: The Son of Man is to be betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill him, and three days after being killed, he will rise (Mk 9:31). Those poor disciples really had to bend their minds around this concept because Jesus was telling them that the secret to success lies not in any earthly measure, but rather in giving everything away, to the point of suffering and even dying, so that we can rise to new life.
Even today, this is a difficult concept for us to grasp. No wonder the disciples argued with one another while they were travelling along (cf Mk 9:33). In a sense, you might say that they had formed their own study group, but Jesus had to intervene again in order to help them to grasp the concept. The extra time and effort he invested was well worth the effort though because even today, every disciple who follows after Jesus must understand that the secret to our success does not lie in any measure of earthly power, but rather in our ability to joyfully share our talents and gifts with those we meet, even to the point – if necessary – of giving our lives. We should never be worried about giving to this point, because Jesus has promised us that we will rise again, just as he did.
This is the task that every one of us has been given. Every disciple of Jesus must ultimately learn this truth: we have been entrusted with the great promise of eternal life, and every day of our earthly life, we can look forward to enjoying eternal life in the presence of our God. As we become more and more convinced of this truth, we find ourselves looking at the world around us less and less from the perspective of competition, less and less concerned about taking revenge on those who make life difficult for us (cf Wis 2:12), and more and more able to look with compassion upon situations where envy and selfish ambition lead to disorder and wickedness of every kind (cf Jas 3:16).
Instead of this way of thinking, Jesus challenges us to seek a different kind of wisdom that is found in purity, peace, gentleness, willingness to yield and filled with mercy (cf Jas 3:17). In order to understand this lesson, we have to learn to be servants. When Jesus realized that the disciples were having difficulty with this lesson, he took a little child and put it among them, and taking it in his arms, said to them: ‘Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me ...’ (Mk 9:36-37).
Every child possesses the gift of innocence. If a child’s innocence is nurtured carefully, if it is not corrupted with the worldly attitudes of envy, ambition and revenge, it has the ability to show us the face of Jesus. Have we seen his face lately? Let us all look for him, ask him to help us to understand the lessons he wants to teach us this week. Let us ask him to show us how to serve others, and let us ask him to teach us how to look forward to eternal life in heaven.
The Master’s class
This weekend’s gospel places us with the disciples at a time when we might say that they were still at teachers’ college. There were no buildings and no classrooms at the time; instead, they were travelling through Galilee and Jesus was trying to teach them some very complicated concepts: The Son of Man is to be betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill him, and three days after being killed, he will rise (Mk 9:31). Those poor disciples really had to bend their minds around this concept because Jesus was telling them that the secret to success lies not in any earthly measure, but rather in giving everything away, to the point of suffering and even dying, so that we can rise to new life.
Even today, this is a difficult concept for us to grasp. No wonder the disciples argued with one another while they were travelling along (cf Mk 9:33). In a sense, you might say that they had formed their own study group, but Jesus had to intervene again in order to help them to grasp the concept. The extra time and effort he invested was well worth the effort though because even today, every disciple who follows after Jesus must understand that the secret to our success does not lie in any measure of earthly power, but rather in our ability to joyfully share our talents and gifts with those we meet, even to the point – if necessary – of giving our lives. We should never be worried about giving to this point, because Jesus has promised us that we will rise again, just as he did.
This is the task that every one of us has been given. Every disciple of Jesus must ultimately learn this truth: we have been entrusted with the great promise of eternal life, and every day of our earthly life, we can look forward to enjoying eternal life in the presence of our God. As we become more and more convinced of this truth, we find ourselves looking at the world around us less and less from the perspective of competition, less and less concerned about taking revenge on those who make life difficult for us (cf Wis 2:12), and more and more able to look with compassion upon situations where envy and selfish ambition lead to disorder and wickedness of every kind (cf Jas 3:16).
Instead of this way of thinking, Jesus challenges us to seek a different kind of wisdom that is found in purity, peace, gentleness, willingness to yield and filled with mercy (cf Jas 3:17). In order to understand this lesson, we have to learn to be servants. When Jesus realized that the disciples were having difficulty with this lesson, he took a little child and put it among them, and taking it in his arms, said to them: ‘Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me ...’ (Mk 9:36-37).
Every child possesses the gift of innocence. If a child’s innocence is nurtured carefully, if it is not corrupted with the worldly attitudes of envy, ambition and revenge, it has the ability to show us the face of Jesus. Have we seen his face lately? Let us all look for him, ask him to help us to understand the lessons he wants to teach us this week. Let us ask him to show us how to serve others, and let us ask him to teach us how to look forward to eternal life in heaven.
Un cours avancé
L’évangile nous place aujourd’hui avec les disciples à un moment où nous pourrions dire qu’ils étaient encore au collège des professeurs. À cette époque, il n'y avait ni bâtiments ni salles de classe; au lieu de cela, ils voyageaient à travers la Galilée et Jésus essayait de leur enseigner des concepts très compliqués: le Fils de l'homme est livré aux mains des hommes; ils le tueront et, trois jours après sa mort, il ressuscitera (Mc 9,31). Ces pauvres disciples devaient vraiment se pencher sur ce concept parce que Jésus leur disait que le secret du succès ne réside pas dans une mesure terrestre, mais plutôt dans le fait de tout donner, au point de souffrir et même de mourir, pour que nous puissions nous lever à une vie nouvelle.
Même aujourd'hui, c'est un concept difficile à comprendre. Ce n’est pas étonnant que les disciples se soient disputés pendant qu'ils marchaient sur la route (cf Mc 9, 33). En un sens, on pourrait dire qu'ils ont formé leur propre groupe d'étude, mais Jésus a dû intervenir à nouveau pour les aider à comprendre le concept. Le temps et les efforts supplémentaires qu'il a investis en valaient bien la peine, car même aujourd'hui, chaque disciple qui suit Jésus doit comprendre que le secret de notre succès ne réside dans aucune mesure de puissance terrestre, mais plutôt dans notre capacité à partager joyeusement nos talents avec ceux que nous rencontrons, même au point - si nécessaire - de donner nos vies. Nous ne devrions jamais nous inquiéter de donner jusqu’à ce point, car Jésus nous a promis que nous ressusciterons, comme il l’a fait.
C'est la tâche qui a été confiée à chacun d'entre nous. Chaque disciple de Jésus doit en fin de compte apprendre cette vérité: on nous a confié la grande promesse de la vie éternelle et chaque jour de notre vie terrestre, nous pouvons espérer jouir de la vie éternelle en présence de notre Dieu. En devenant de plus en plus convaincus de cette vérité, nous nous trouvons de moins en moins confrontés au monde qui nous entoure du point de vue de la concurrence, de moins en moins soucieux de nous venger de ceux qui nous rendent la vie difficile (cf Sagesse 2,12 ), et de plus en plus en mesure de regarder avec compassion les situations où l’envie et l’ambition égoïste mènent au désordre et à la méchanceté de toutes sortes (cf Jc 3,16).
Au lieu de cette manière de penser, Jésus nous met au défi de chercher une autre sorte de sagesse qui se trouve dans la pureté, la paix, la douceur, la volonté d’être réconcilié, et pleine de miséricorde (cf Jc 3:17). Pour comprendre cette leçon, nous devons apprendre à être des serviteurs. Lorsque Jésus se rendit compte que les disciples avaient des difficultés avec cette leçon, il prit un petit enfant et le plaça au milieu d’eux, l’embrassa, et leur dit: "Quiconque accueille un enfant comme celui-ci, c’est moi qu’il accueille ..." (Mc 9,36-37).
Chaque enfant possède le don de l'innocence. Si l’innocence d’un enfant est soigneusement entretenue, si elle n’est pas corrompue par les attitudes matérielles de l’envie, de l’ambition et de la vengeance, elle a la capacité de nous montrer le visage de Jésus. Avons-nous vu son visage récemment? Cherchons-le tous, demandons à Jésus de nous aider à comprendre les leçons qu'il veut nous enseigner cette semaine. Demandons-lui de nous montrer comment servir les autres et demandons-lui de nous apprendre à espérer la vie éternelle au paradis.
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