Seeds:

First Reading: Wisdom 2:12,17-20

• There is a brutal honesty at the beginning of this passage: the virtuous person “annoys” other people. Have you ever been ‘annoyed’ by someone in that context? Perhaps you found them sentimental, or overly pious? What might that say about our own desire to grow in holiness?
• Jesus’ death is foreshadowed here, along with the ‘test’ that lies behind it: if he really is God’s Son, God will rescue him from his enemies. In the crucifixion this seems not to be the case, but when viewed with the resurrection as well, we see that not only did Jesus escape his enemies but conquered and defeated them. We see, then, the depths of the cruelty that can exist in the human heart, and the love of God that triumphs over it all regardless.

Psalm: Psalm 53(54):3-6,8

• There is a link made here, in this psalm, between God’s name and his power; this link is also picked up in the New Testament with regards to Jesus and his name. The Church celebrates a feast for the name of Jesus, and the longstanding tradition of the East is to recite the name of Jesus in the Jesus Prayer as a central pillar of the spiritual life.
• Notice the juxtaposition of the proud who have no regard for God, and the psalmist who speaks to God and relies on his help. There is humility in leaning on God for help, rather than relying on our own power.

Second Reading: James 3:16-4:3

• As we explore below, the Scriptures call us to be makers of peace. There is an active, indeed proactive edge to that vocation. In what small ways can we try to make peace in our lives and circumstances around us?
• James’ letter speaks often of wisdom; here he lists some of its qualities. Elsewhere in the letter, he is emphatic that God will give wisdom to those who ask for it. How often do we pray for the kind of wisdom James described?

Gospel: Mark 9:30-37

• There’s an interesting note that Mark makes in this passage: the disciples didn’t understand and were afraid to ask for clarification. Why were they afraid? Were they mindful of the rebuke that Peter had received? When are we afraid to ask for clarity if we don’t understand? Were the disciples right to be afraid in this context?
• It is in the context of Jesus teaching about his own humiliation and death that the Twelve argued among themselves about who was the greatest. There is a human frailty that often comes through in Mark’s accounts; we might shake our heads in disbelief at these people, but in many ways they represent the mass of contradictions that we can find in our own selves.
• Jesus, compassionate and gentle, did not rebuke them but used it as an opportunity to teach them.
• How do we welcome children in our parishes? Are we conscious of the sacred ground that being around children is, and that in welcoming them we also welcome Jesus?

Sapling:

James’ letter is a gem among the New Testament epistles. James writes with a plainness and a practicality that is so different from Paul’s theological eloquence or the density of Hebrews.

Over the last few weeks we’ve been reading through sections of this letter, coming today to the end of chapter 3 and the beginning of chapter 4.

James’ purpose in this section is to emphasise the importance of unity. He tells us that jealousy and ambition lead to disharmony and wickedness. We see that for ourselves at every level of human life; from international relations all the way down to relationships between individuals.

This fracturing of human relationships is not in line with the “wisdom that comes down from above” which is itself peaceable and compassionate, demonstrated itself in doing good.

At this point we might start to blame “the system”. Countries compete and enter into conflict, because it’s the way the world is, right? Or being ambitious is how the job market works, right? We have to play the game in order to win.

James, though, won’t buy into that. He says that the root of this disharmony and fracturing in the world comes from inside ourselves. It’s our own desires or passions, corrupted by sin, which drives us inexorably.

If we are to fix the problems in the world, we have to begin with ourselves.

James gives us two practical ways to combat that internal problem, common to all of us.

The first and foundational tool in our arsenal is prayer. When a need arises within us, as children of God our first impulse should be to pray; to ask God to satisfy that need.

If we don’t receive what we want, James answers bluntly, it’s because we’ve asked for what is not good for us, we’ve prayed to indulge our own desires, which we may not even be aware of. The good news is, as Jesus teaches, God knows how to give good gifts to his children: we may not get what we think we want, but we get what we need, sometimes to endure the trials we have to face.

The second tool in our arsenal is to be peacemakers. Notice the biblical word is not “peacekeepers” as we might expect the UN to engage in.

No, we are called to go further than that. We are to be makers of peace; that is, to be people who bring peace to situations that lack it, both in our own personal lives and in the lives of our communities and nations.

If we can do that, even when it may seem to be a fruitless exercise, we “sow the seeds”, in James’ words, that will grow into holiness. Some plants take many years to grow and bear fruit, sometimes that may be longer than our lifetime; but that’s ok.

Fruit:

• Catechism of the Catholic Church 1282-1283, baptism and children
• Vatican II, Gaudium et spes, on the Church’s mission of peace in the world
• Pope St. John XIII, Pacem in terris, on establishing peace in the world

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