True Wisdom
Twenty Fifth Sunday - Year B
Wisdom 2:12, 17-20; James 3:16-4:3; Mark 9:30-37
For the second time, Jesus is teaching his disciples about his death and resurrection. When he did it for the first time, there was an exchange of harsh words between Him and Peter (Mark 8:32-33). This time, the disciples ignore the subject, while they focused on something more closely related to us: "they had argued among themselves who was the greatest" (Mark 9:34).
Peter, the first among the apostles, three times denied His Lord. Thomas is known as the doubting one and Judas as a traitor. Matthew was a publican, Philip could not see in Christ the revelation of the Father, and Nathanael had his hidden life. James and John, the sons of Zebedee, desired for themselves first places in the Kingdom of the Lord. Andrew was always in the shadow of his more eloquent brother. Finally, about James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, and Simon the Zealot, we know practically nothing. Was there a reason to argue about who was the greatest?
„For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice " (James 3:16). Saint James teaches us that earthly wisdom is characterized by bitter jealousy and rivalry (James 3:14). Such wisdom filled the hearts of the wicked in the book of Wisdom. The just man disturbs them and therefore they decide to get rid of him (Wisdom 2:12). Their plan is a prophecy concerning the fate of our Lord: "The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of men and they will kill him" (Mark 9:31).
The wisdom from above is completely different. It "is first of all pure, then peaceable, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, without inconstancy or insincerity." (James 3:17). The life of the Savior perfectly exemplifies such wisdom. Through the blood of the cross, our Lord brought peace "by destroying the enmity" (Eph. 2:16), and the fruit of this peace is the justification of those who put their trust in Him. Jesus Christ "was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification" (Rom. 4:25).
The sight of the righteous is a burden for the ungodly (Wisdom 2:14). Why? The testimony of his life reveals their unfaithfulness to God's commandments (Wisdom 2:12). What is worse, instead of repenting and imitating his way of life, the wicked decide to condemn the righteous to a shameful death (Wisdom 2:20). However, they forgot the biblical truth that "righteousness is immortal" (Wisdom 1:15). The resurrection of Jesus is the answer to their challenge that if the just one is the son of God, God will save him (see Wisdom 2:18). And that is exactly what happened. The Son of Man "after three days" rose from the dead (Mark 9:31; 16: 6).
Our Lord gives us a remedy for our selfish ambitions, bitter jealousy, and rivalry: "If anyone wants to be first, let him be the last of all and the servant of all" (Mk 9:35). The greatness of man is revealed in his service and sacrifice for others. Placing a child in their midst, our Lord concretizes the meaning of being a servant. If one can serve those whom society regards as “nobody”, such person truly understands the message of today's Gospel.