SEPTEMBER 23^rd 2012, TWENTY FIFTH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME

GOSPEL: Mark 9:30-37

Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini, broadcast on Vatican Radio

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This Gospel passage puts two ways of life before us: the path of putting ourselves first, and the path of putting ourselves last. The latter is the way of love, because we can only learn how to love when we cease putting ourselves first. Love is the practice of putting the other in first place and taking second place ourselves. Jesus uses the example of a child to illustrate the attitude that all of us must have. We must submit to the paternal will of God for us, following Jesus in the way of love, and renouncing our inclinations to place ourselves at the centre of the universe.

Jesus uses the example of a child to show two alternative paths to life: the path of selfish ambition, and the path of submission to the paternal will of the Father

This Gospel has two parts. In the first part Jesus speaks of the suffering that he must endure before the Resurrection. The disciples do not understand and are filled with fear by his words. This is because their minds are on a subject of a different sort altogether - they were discussing who among them was the greatest! This was the level of their mental exertions during the journey!

                Here we have two attitudes that are diametrically opposed – the attitude of subjecting oneself to the plan of God, and the attitude of following one’s own ego. Jesus takes a child to demonstrate to the disciples which of the two ways is correct. Should we live in the pursuit of our own glory, competing with others so as never to feel second best to anyone? Or should we dedicate our lives to pursuing the sublime call that God issues to each of us? Should we live by following the path that leads to true resurrection? Or do we follow the path that claims to lead to the fulfilment of our egoistic impulses, but in reality leads nowhere?

                There are two paths here, and both purport to lead to fulfilment, to authentic life. What is it that brings life in the fullest sense of the term? The affirmation of my ego? The satisfaction of having surpassed someone else? The feeling of being superior to others? The glory that comes from defeating others? Or, is life attained by welcoming Christ? By having a genuine relationship with him? Does life consist in relationship with others rather than in competition with others?

               

We fear being put in second place. But we cannot love unless we learn to take second place and put others first.

But this is not yet the full message of the Gospel passage for this Sunday. We will not understand God’s plan for us as long as we are wallowing in the fears that issue from our egoistic self-preoccupation. Each of the twelve apostles is filled with the fear of not being important in comparison to the others. We all fear not being taken into consideration by others! We all have a terror of being humiliated in the eyes of others! Is it possible to love others while we are consumed by this fear? Is it possible to love a spouse, a son or daughter, a friend, a brother in the faith, while we foster this fear of being second? The fact is that love does involve being in second place! How can I truly love if I continue to put myself in first place? How can anyone else love us if they place themselves and the satisfaction of their own egos before everything and everyone else? If someone is not willing to put us first then we feel that we are simply being used by them.

No-one can truly love unless they overcome their terror of not just coming second, but coming last, of being overlooked, of not being consulted. What a terror we have of these things! The book of Ecclesiastes says that the entire enterprise of man on earth is nothing other than envy and competition. The tragedy of man, according to Chapter Three of Genesis, begins with his fear of coming second to God. In the grotesque attempt to be number one, man becomes nothing. He loses himself, loses sight of the true meaning of life, and becomes consumed by the fear that he is nothing. He views others as antagonists, and even views God as his opponent. Jesus Christ came into the world so that we would no longer have fear of this void. He himself became the last among men, the most despised, to the extent of being killed. All of this shows us that being last is not a tragic thing, being despised by others is not a tragic thing. The tragedy is not knowing how to love others! The tragedy is the inability to do what love requires; namely, to put others in first place. The tragedy is not having a heart that loves, but to have a heart that is focussed on one’s own ego.

The capacity to love comes at a cost, and that cost is the renunciation of our egoistic aspirations

This Gospel asks us to decide between the child, the one who comes last, and the powerful and great on earth. The “great” man lives in solitude, consumed by his own ego, whilst the child lives under the paternity of God. In the depths of our hearts there is a desire for friendship and communion that can only be satisfied when we overcome the demands of our ego. This desire for communion and fellowship comes with a cost, and cannot be otherwise. This cost is the renunciation of our own supremacy. But this renunciation is not a tragedy but a liberation. There is no greater burden on the soul than obsession with oneself. This burden will not leave you in peace until it is dissolved by the grace of God. Let us ask for the grace to follow Jesus in the way of love, in the way of liberation from the obsessive terror of not being first. Once we cease putting ourselves first, then we obtain the capacity to love. It is more important and joyful to know how to love, to know how to put oneself in second place, than to have the “glory” of being first.