Homily – 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)

It’s great to see children achieving.  No parent could deny that there is satisfaction in watching a child take those first steps, utter those first words, create that first masterpiece.  And no teacher could have better satisfaction than to see their students succeeding in uncharted areas.  Likewise there is genuine joy in the love of a spouse who can celebrate a success, a promotion, an achievement.  

It seems to be a human characteristic too that achievement is often mixed up with violence, rivalry and jealousy.  The young child who takes his first steps to the delight of his parents is suddenly pounced upon by his older brother because this is his attention area.  The winner of the school sports competition all of a sudden has rumours spread about her social life.  The newly promoted spouse finds their home life has turned from supportive to combative – ‘don’t think you don’t have to pull your weight around here just because you are important there’.  

St James names it: wherever you find jealousy and ambition you find disharmony and wicked things of every kind being done.  It seems to be caught up with being human.  It is often called scapegoating.  And it works like this.  We feel better because someone else is put down, victimised or destroyed.  It is often played out in situations where we feel that we are under threat, that we will be ‘killed’ (metaphorically) or diminished if someone else is successful.  It often builds momentum and ends up with great community support over and against a demonised other (we are lucky in Melbourne to have football to help us play this out in a controlled way that allows us to release these scapegoating tendencies in a socially acceptable way).

The gospel offers us another way.  But it is not easy to understand.  In Mark’s gospel Jesus is talking about himself, the Son of Man, being handed over, (betrayed) put to death, and rising again.  The disciples have no idea what he is talking about.  They are fighting about which is the greatest.  Ironically this is the very dynamic that put Jesus to death.  He was killed because of the jealousy, envy, hatred of those to whom he was a threat.  He had to be got rid of.  

So he takes a child.  Perhaps this action will speak more to them than his words.  If you welcome these little ones you welcome me.  These little ones represent life and God is the God who is the God of life not death.  And we do not have to scapegoat anyone to have life.  The older brother will not die because his younger one walks in his space.  The second in the sports competition will not die because her school mate won!  The spouse will not die because the other got a promotion.  Jealousy and envy do not have to determine who we are.  At the centre of this gospel passage are four small words that everyone seemed to miss – he will rise again.  They are not only a commentary on Jesus they are a proclamation to everyone of us

By Fr Brendan Reed

Published: 20 September 2024