Deacon Kevin Gingras
Sept 19, 2021
25th Sunday in Ordinary Time
But the wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peaceable, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, without inconstancy or insincerity. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace for those who cultivate peace.
What a great lead-in from the letter of James. James is laying down some great groundwork of how the Church should work, not for self-gain or power but for serving others with mercy and sincerity, and lifting up the needy, and Jesus brings this point home when he teaches his Apostles this lesson in today’s Gospel.
Sometimes we miss the mark of today’s lesson and don’t have that wisdom from above that helps us focus on others. In the Gospel today, we see that those who had first-hand teaching from Jesus himself also missed the mark in a BIG way and Jesus called them out on it!
What were you arguing about on the way?
Jesus asks His Apostles. He knew the answer to that question already. The Apostles fell silent. It reminded me of when I was a kid and I was doing something wrong and my mom or dad asked: "What were you doing" - my reply - "Nothing, I was doing nothing!"
They had been discussing among themselves on the way who was the greatest.
This is certainly not what Jesus is all about, he is flipping that concept of world power and importance upside down.
“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…”
A child would have been a far lesser and unimportant citizen to them, the same as the poor or the outcast. Jesus is telling them to take care of those that society sees as irrelevant. To care for those who cannot care for themselves. His very apostles were missing who Jesus really was and what Jesus really taught. They were missing that Wisdom from above!
We can do that too sometimes, right? Especially for us, we aren’t following the living, breathing Son of God around day to day, dining with Him, and learning directly from Him. Remember in last weeks Gospel, Jesus’ main man Peter came so close to nailing it when he professed who he thought Jesus was - Peter proclaimed:
“You are the Christ”.
Immediately after this wise proclamation, Jesus is saying to poor Peter: “Get behind me, Satan. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”
So close! Peter came so close and maybe, just maybe at that moment of his first declaration Peter might have thought to himself: “Wow, the Master loved that comment that He’s the Christ, perhaps I’m the greatest of these guys after all.” Moments later Peter’s thoughts changed to thinking he’s the least of them. He too missed that Wisdom from above and instead was thinking with Earthly wisdom.
In August my wife Allison, daughter Faith, and I, along with several others from our Church and hundreds of others from our Diocese went to the Catholic Youth Day on Martha’s Vineyard with Bishop da Cunha and several other speakers. Part of the day included the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and Adoration. When this began we all knelt as Jesus was placed on the altar and I quickly realized one thing. I can’t see Jesus! The monstrance was hidden behind the ambo. I was missing my view of Who could instill in me that Wisdom from above! I thought of moving but instead, stayed. I felt inclined to pray about what other things in life get in the way of my view of Jesus, blocking that Wisdom from above. It was very eye-opening. What earthly things get in the way of that Wisdom from above for me?
Work - yup, work gets in the way a lot, why? It’s probably at work where I least think about Jesus. I get caught up in the daily tasks, getting the job done, and sometimes it’s like I left Jesus in my car in the parking lot before going in to work. It’s important to focus on work and doing your job while there, as a matter of fact, if I sat around doing nothing but pondering God and reading scripture at work then I’m committing a sin! I’m stealing from my company! However, I need to find that balance, focusing on work while also praying.
My to-do list: Sure, that gets in the way too. I’ll be focusing too much on needing to mow the lawn, clean up those branches, fix the bathroom, trim the trees outside, and things like that. These things will get done eventually and I don’t need anybody reminding me about it every six months or so!
The diaconate: Yup, sounds crazy but it’s true! I had a wedding to witness today and that got me nervous, and in turn, took up too much of my thoughts preceding it. Sometimes it’s meetings that I have coming up or have to plan for baptisms that take up my thoughts. Sounds contrary but it’s true, sometimes I let the paperwork and meetings of the diaconate itself get in the way of that Wisdom from above! There are times when I am up here on the altar, kneeling as the consecration takes place and transubstantiation is happening right here and I am feet from it, I miss it. Perhaps it’s my second or third Mass this weekend, perhaps I’m thinking about that project I’m working on at work or when I’m going to mow the lawn. Whatever it is that is distracting me it is insignificant to the fact that we are in the presence of the Lord here at Mass.
We need to seek that Wisdom from above constantly to see Jesus for who He is. If we really want that Wisdom from above then we need to look above to get it! We need to see Jesus clearly and ask clearly. We need to focus, be peaceable, gentle, and full of mercy, and pray for that Wisdom. That will help us recognize who Jesus is and what he wants from us.
Today, when Father holds up the host and states:
Take this all of you and eat of it, for this is my body which will be given up for you.
Take the time to focus on the Eucharist, the Body of Christ, the center of our faith. Humbly thank Jesus for allowing us to be worthy to be here in His presence and to receive him.
Maybe we could take the time to pray this prayer from St. Thomas Aquinas:
Grant me, O Lord my God, a mind to know you, a heart to seek you, wisdom to find you, conduct pleasing to you, faithful perseverance in waiting for you, and a hope of finally embracing you. Amen.
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