Gospel according to Saint Mark 9:30-37

Jesus and his disciples left from there and began a journey through Galilee, but he did not wish anyone to know about it. He was teaching his disciples and telling them, “The Son of Man is to be handed over to men and they will kill him, and three days after his death the Son of Man will rise.” But they did not understand the saying, and they were afraid to question him.
They came to Capernaum and, once inside the house, he began to ask them, “What were you arguing about on the way?” But they remained silent. They had been discussing among themselves on the way who was the greatest. Then he sat down, called the Twelve, and said to them, “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; and whoever receives me, receives not me but the One who sent me.”

Envious and childish adults

Luis CASASUS President of the Idente Missionaries

Rome, September 22, 2024 | XXV Sunday in Ordinary Time

Wis 2: 12.17-20; James 3: 16-4,3; Mk 9: 30-37

Along the way, they had discussed among themselves who was the greatest. If someone does not consider envy to be relevant and powerful… he would lack some sensitivity and culture. Freud himself, in the maturity of his thought, considered envy as the bedrock, the foundation of our psyche.

Envy is deeply rooted in the person and is common to all ages and peoples. Our ancestors lived in fear of arousing the envy of the gods, whom they hoped to placate with elaborate rituals and offerings. In Greek mythology, it is Hera’s envy of Aphrodite, who had been chosen as the most beautiful goddess, that triggered the Trojan War. In the Bible, we see that out of envy for Cain she murdered Abel, and the Old Testament also says that the devil’s envy brought death into the world (Wis 2: 24). And in the Indian epic text Mahabharata, it is because of envy that Duryodhana waged an epic war against his cousins, the Pandavas.

Envy is usually directed toward those with whom we compare ourselves, those with whom we feel we are in competition. As Bertrand Russell wrote: Beggars do not envy millionaires, although they will of course envy other beggars who are more successful than they are.

Few people confess their envy. We are very careful to conceal it. Even so, it can be betrayed by indirect expressions such as joy or pleasure derived from the misfortune of another. This explains why news and stories about washed-up celebrities or failed politicians are so widely read. In the Rhetoric, Aristotle already spoke of this sad manifestation.

In the Book of Proverbs (24: 17-18), we are warned, in a very peculiar way, against this reaction: Rejoice not when thine enemy falls, and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles; lest the Lord see it, and it displease him, and his wrath turn away from him.

Rare is the person who can truly rejoice unreservedly at the success of another, although this is easier if the success is trivial, or if it is part of a larger picture of failure. In some people, envy can give rise to defensive reactions such as apathy, irony, snobbery or narcissism, which have in common the use of contempt to minimize the existential threat that they believe they see in the superiority of others.

Repressed envy can also be transformed into resentment, which is the directing of the pain that accompanies our sense of failure or inferiority, in the form of hatred, to a person, a human group or an organization.

When we encounter someone who is better or more successful than we are, we may react with joy, admiration, indifference, envy or emulation. By reacting with envy, we poison ourselves and refuse to learn from those who know more than we do. But emulation (we can call it imitation) allows us to grow and acquire the qualities that would otherwise have incited our envy.

Again, looking at the Rhetoric, Aristotle says that emulation is experienced above all by those who believe they deserve certain good things they do not yet have, and more intensely by those who have a noble disposition. When Jesus invites us to imitate him, serving others, he spares himself many discourses and goes to this most direct way to the human heart: he offers himself as an example to imitate or emulate.

—ooOoo—

Christ contrasts envy and jealousy with service. This is how he says that the one who wishes to be first must act.

It is worthwhile to continue reflecting on the form of service that Christ proposes to us. It goes beyond the satisfaction we feel when we do a favor or a great good to others. It means more than devoting ourselves to a profession in which we are immediately and intensely dedicated to our neighbor, such as a firefighter, a teacher with a vocation, or one who works in health care.

But, at times, serving can be unrewarding or insufficient to find meaning in our lives, as happened to the generous Martha, when she busied herself busily seeking the comfort and well-being of Jesus, while her sister sat at the Master’s feet. Surely, at that moment she was a victim of envy and jealousy.

Christ wants to take us further. His proposal is: To become a servant to all and in all circumstances.

It is not, then, something occasional, but nothing less than an attitude that gives unity, direction and meaning to our whole life Does it seem exaggerated or illusory? At first glance, with the pseudo-values and superficial observation of our countless selfishnesses… it seems so. But a more subtle look at the lives of the saints and our own experience suggests that Christ’s invitation touches the core of our being.

For example, three researchers at a Vancouver university did an experiment with 23 children under the age of two, finding that, when sharing a doll, each showed a higher satisfaction (by some form of measure) than they seemed to enjoy alone. Of course, this happens to us adults when we can watch a movie with someone and then exchange our impressions, but the experiment refers – technically speaking – to “giving with a cost”, that is, leaving something personal and also at a time when the children had not just begun their infant social life.

It is significant how the parable of Lazarus and the rich man ends (Lk 16: 19-31). From hell, the rich man wishes that his pitiful example, his awkwardness, would serve his five brothers to avoid torment and enjoy a glorious eternity. It is a desire to serve, in this instance a desperate one, that seems to be stronger than the horrible suffering in Gehenna.

For a disciple of Christ, the important thing is to verify that the Holy Spirit shows us at every moment what it means to serve. We can affirm that serving like Jesus always has two dimensions: freeing our neighbor from pain and helping him to follow a path, or at least to do an action, that fills his life with fullness. That is exactly what Christ did with us: he freed us from the burden of sin, but he also gave us the means to follow him in his way of walking with hope and faith.

He continues to do so, which is perfectly reflected in the washing of his disciples’ feet.

When we remember his words, you cannot serve two masters, we usually consider them as a threatening warning, as a reminder to be prudent and not to submit to the calls of comfort, pleasure and power. However, the truly mystical part in this sentence: If we are genuinely obedient to the voice of the Spirit, if we become servants of our neighbor in the name of God, we will be given the freedom not to fall into the traps of our character, of the world and of the devil, who can no longer be our masters… even if from time to time they make life difficult for us.

The person who has a true intention to serve, by doing good, tries to enlighten his neighbor so that he can take a step, big or small, to change his life. A heroic example is that of the Founders, who seek the way to make a way for an effective and concrete service, to respond to some or several of the needs and tribulations of human beings.

—ooOoo—

On other occasions (Mt 18: 1.4; Mt 19: 14), Jesus puts children as models for the Christian. Today, he tells us, embracing a child, that whoever receives one such child in my name receives me. Today, Christ makes us see children as completely dependent persons, who cannot live on their own. In Israel’s society, this was even more dramatic, for socially they had no importance, nor legally any consideration, even if they were loved by their families. Therefore, Christ is making us see how a person who does NOT have a mature behavior, but rather a “childish” one, someone who needs to be continuously instructed, directed and cared for, is to be received by us, in an attitude of service.

It is easy to be moved and touched by a child in need of help, but it is not so easy to receive, to welcome with patience an adult who does not cease to commit clumsiness and is insensitive and ungrateful to the attention and care of others. These are the human beings who in today’s Gospel text are represented by a child.

Putting together the two teachings of Christ: serving and receiving those who are incapable of living maturely, the question that arises may be: How far does my desire to serve go? Surely that desire is limited, for we are ignorant of the plans of Providence for each of God’s children.

Therefore, I would like to recall a striking example from the Old Testament. Joseph, son of Rachel and Jacob, who earned the hatred of his eleven brothers for his delusions of grandeur. He recounted the dreams he had had, seeing the sun, the moon and the stars bowing down before him (Gen 37: 9). As we recall, his brothers wanted to kill him, but they finally sold him into slavery and he ended up in Egypt. After spending more than a decade in prison, he ended up being Pharaoh’s trusted man, and he forgave his brothers, helped his people and filled his family with faith and joy.

The embrace of a child in today’s Gospel text does NOT represent embracing all the whims and indolence of someone who does not behave with maturity, but rather considering him as a child of God, someone for whom there is a divine plan.

Joseph, the son of Jacob, when he revealed his true identity to his astonished brothers, told them: God sent me before you: to save your lives in an extraordinary way (Gen 45: 7).

May we remember this story when we feel tired, impatient and angry at someone’s immature, selfish, insensitive… childish behavior.

_______________________________

In the Sacred Hearts of Jesus, Mary and Joseph,

Luis CASASUS

President