Gospel: February 25, 2025
February 25, 2025 (Tuesday)
7th Week in Ordinary Time
Psalter: Week 3 / (Green)
Ps 37:3-4, 18-19, 27-28, 39-40
Commit your life to the Lord, and he will help you.
1st Reading: Sirach 2:1-11
My son, if you have decided to serve the Lord, prepare yourself for trials. Keep your heart upright and remain resolute; do not be upset in the time of adversity. Hold fast to the Lord, do not separate yourself from him so that you may be successful to the end of your days. Accept all that happens to you, be patient when you are humbled, for as gold is tested in the fire, so those acceptable to God are tested in the crucible of humiliation. Have confidence in him and he will take care of you; follow the right path and hope in him. You who fear the Lord, wait for his mercy and do not turn away lest you fall. You who fear the Lord, trust him and you will not lose your reward. You who fear the Lord, hope for all good things; hope for eternal joy and mercy. Remember what happened to your ancestors. Who has ever trusted in the Lord and been confounded? Who has persevered in fear of the Lord and been abandoned? Who has called upon him and not been heard? For the Lord is compassion and loving-kindness; he forgives our sins and saves us in time of distress.
Gospel: Mark 9:30-37
After leaving that place, they made their way through Galilee; but Jesus did not want people to know where he was because he was teaching his disciples. And he told them, “The Son of Man will be delivered into the hands of men. They will kill him, but three days after he has been killed, he will rise.” The disciples, however, did not understand these words and they were afraid to ask him what he meant. They came to Capernaum and, once inside the house, Jesus asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?” But they did not answer, because they had been arguing about who was the greatest. Then he sat down, called the Twelve and said to them, “If someone wants to be first, let him be last of all and servant of all.” Then he took a little child, placed him in their midst, and putting his arms around him he said to them, “Whoever welcomes a child such as this in my name, welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me, welcomes not me, but the One who sent me.”
Reflection:
“The way of humble service.”
The disciples’ minds are far away from Jesus. They are so wrapped up in their own desire for prominence, that they completely fail to react to Jesus’ words about his impending death. Jesus has just told them that he will be killed, but that he will rise again on the third day. They don’t understand, yet none of them asks, “What do you mean?” Instead, they squabble about who is the greatest. This is the opposite of the way of the Lord. Pride and envy must be replaced by loving humility. “If someone wants to be first, let him be last of all and servant of all.” To be faithful to the mission we have received, the whole Church is called to walk the way of humble service in imitation of Christ. However, if we are to avoid being absorbed in distractions and petty rivalries, we need to be open to the Lord’s Word in prayer, so that he can mold and fashion us. That prayer of encounter involves us seeking to understand, asking the Lord, “What do you mean?” and listening for his response in quiet discernment.
