Reflection on the readings for Sunday Sept. 20th entitled THE LAST SHALL BE FIRST

[Rev. Bob Johnnene OFD]

The Last Shall Be First
Reflection on Readings For Sunday September 20th 2009
Wisdom 2:12-20; James 3:16-18; Psalm 54:3-8; Mark 9:30-37
By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFD
Mission Sts. Sergius & Bacchus/ Franciscans of Divine mercy
www.Missionstsergius.org

This week’s readings have a series of powerful messages for us to
consider. They talk about how people who boast about how great they
are, how powerful they are could very well be in danger in God’s
design of things. I have chosen a few of the passages from today’s
readings for us to reflect upon and consider how and where we, and
those in the public eye, are living them.
For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder
and every evil practice. But the wisdom that comes from heaven is,
first pure; then peace loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy
and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace
raise a harvest of righteousness. (James 3:16)
Where you have envy and selfish ambition, you find disorder and every
evil practice. Envy and selfish ambition, how often have we and
leaders of corporation, governments and churches followed those goals?
How does the scripture tell us to overcome those evil conditions in
our life? By seeking God’s wisdom and live a life that is considerate
of others, full of mercy for those who are suffering because of
poverty, illness or who have hurt us in some way. We are told to seek
out peace not vengeance.
Remember what we are told in Romans 12:18-20; “Dear friends, never
avenge yourselves. Leave that to God. For it is written, "I will take
vengeance; I will repay those who deserve it," says the Lord.”
In James 3 we are told “The harvest of Righteousness is sown in peace
by those who make peace”
Since we are in the seasonal time of harvest, possibly we need to work
harder than ever before to harvest peace between those with whom we
have had disagreements. We need to try to find the common ground to
settle the petty differences that have divided all who all claim to
worship the one and same Creator God, The God of Abraham, Isaac,
David, Jacob and the Almighty Father of Jesus Christ.
We have sown the seeds of discontent among the seeds of peace and
goodwill. Now we need to harvest peace and goodwill and leave the
discontent for the weeds to be burned and destroyed.
Mark’s gospel tells the story of how the apostles were arguing about
who among them was the greater. Christ knew this, as He knows all of
our thoughts, words and actions, and when they got to where they were
to rest, Christ gathered them together and asked what they were
discussing. When no one answered, Christ sat them down and told them;
“Jesus sat down and called for the Twelve to come to him. Then he
said, "If you want to be first, you must be the very last. You must be
the servant of everyone. Jesus then took a little child and had the
child stand among them. Then he took the child in his arms. He said to
them, Anyone who welcomes one of these little children in my name
welcomes me. And anyone who welcomes me doesn't welcome only me but
also the One who sent me."
Can Christ’s message to us be any clearer? If we wish to be a true
leader, the first of firsts among people we need to become a servant
to all. We need to have the innocence of a child that knows no anger
or hatred. Hatred, violence, anger are lessons that are learned and
then nurtured by people with agendas of their own.
Our only agenda in life should be to live, work and think of what
Almighty God wants from us. We need to live our life attempting to
emulate our Redeemer and Savior, Jesus Christ, in all of our daily
lives.
We can begin doing this by examining how we relate to the issues that
our family and the world are facing today. Do we judge people on how
they look, their color, the church they attend, who their partner in
life may be, how much money they have? We should judge them on how
they are respectful of the needs of others, how they are always ready
to help someone in trouble or need, by their love of Almighty God.
We live in troubled times. We hear many versions of how life is going
to change for us by doing one thing or another. Politicians will be
promoting their agendas over the next months all claiming to improve
our lives. Television networks are all vying for our eyes claiming to
be the #1 network that gives us the best news and entertainment.
Advertisers tell us our lives will improve by using their product. The
truth is the only way our lives will ever change is if we change them
within our selves. Our lives and the world condition will only change
when we begin to make a serious examination of our behavior and how
closely it and our lives are being lived in relationship to Christ’s
teachings. The challenge is ours alone. We can not be seeking to be
the top gun but must be willing to be the servant. We need to become
a servant of God, serving our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ
and work to harvest peace among all God’s children. May God give us
the Wisdom to live according to His way. May God grant us patience,
compassion, forgiveness, and courage to live according to his way so
that we may be welcomed into His Kingdom with open and loving
arms. AMEN.