Wednesday May 26  

 

EIGHTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

 

GREATNESS THROUGH SERVICE

 

Introduction

In the first reading, in a prayer God is asked to show his greatness and holiness to all peoples by showing them his marvelous deeds.

The Gospel tells us that the great God will save people through Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who came as a servant of all. Those who follow Jesus must, like him, learn to serve, and learn to serve even at the cost of pain.

 

Opening Prayer

God Lord of all,
your Son Jesus, was your equal
and yet he made himself our brother and servant.
May his Spirit be alive in us
and dispose us to become like him,
powerless and vulnerable,
so that we can serve one another,
especially the weakest of our brothers and sisters.
In this way, may people experience
how bold you make your love.
We ask this through Christ, our Lord.

 

READING 1:  Sir 36:1.4-5a,10-17

Come to our aid, O God of the universe,

As you have used us to show them your holiness,

so now use them to show us your glory.

Thus they will know, as we know,

that there is no God but you.

Hasten the ending, appoint the time,

and let people proclaim your mighty deeds.

Let raging fire consume the fugitive,

and your people’s oppressors meet destruction.

Crush the heads of the hostile rulers

who say, “There is no one besides me.”

Gather all the tribes of Jacob,

that they may inherit the land as in days of old.

Show mercy to the people called by your name:

Israel, whom you named your firstborn.

 

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 79:8, 9, 11 and 13

R: Show us, O Lord, the light of your kindness.

Do not remember against us the iniquities of our forefathers;

let your compassion move quickly ahead of us,

for we have been brought very low.

R: Show us, O Lord, the light of your kindness.

Help us, God our savior,

on account of the glory of your name.

Deliver us, pardon our sins

for your name’s sake.

R: Show us, O Lord, the light of your kindness.

Let the groaning of the imprisoned come in before you;

in accord with the greatness of your arm

preserve those doomed to die.

R: Show us, O Lord, the light of your kindness.

Then we, your people, the sheep of your pasture,

will give thanks to you forever;

from generation to generation

we will recount your praise.

R: Show us, O Lord, the light of your kindness.

 

Alleluia: Mk 10:45

R/ Alleluia, alleluia

The Son of Man came to serve,

to give his life as a ransom of many.

R/ Alleluia, alleluia

 

Gospel: Mk 10:32-45

They were on the way, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus went ahead of them. They were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. Taking the Twelve aside again, he began to tell them what was going to happen to him. “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and hand him over to the Gentiles who will mock him, spit upon him, scourge him, and put him to death, but after three days he will rise.”

Ambition of James and John. Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” He replied, “What do you wish [me] to do for you?” They answered him, “Grant that in your glory we may sit one at your right and the other at your left.”Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I drink or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” They said to him, “We can.” Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink, you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized; but to sit at my right or at my left is not mine to give but is for those for whom it has been prepared.” When the ten heard this, they became indignant at James and John. Jesus summoned them and said to them, “You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones make their authority over them felt. But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant;whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all. For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

 

Intentions

–   For those in authority in the Church, that they may not become functionaries but be “ministers,” that is, servants, we pray:

–   For our Christian families, that by their mutual care and service, parents may prepare their children to render service to others, we pray:

–   For the many who serve us in various ways and provide us with the things and help we need – servants, drivers, nurses, technicians and so many others, too many to name – that we may be grateful and kind to them, we pray:

 

Prayer over the Gifts

Lord our God,
as your Son serves us himself at table
in the signs of bread and wine,
he asks us to drink with him
the cup of self-sacrificing love.
Let your Son fill us with that love
which alone can understand
that to be great is to serve others
and to use up our lives
to give people a chance to live and be free.
May we seek no other reward
than to share the destiny of Jesus,
our Lord and Savior for ever.

 

Prayer after Communion

Loving Father,
your Son has been with us
in this Eucharistic celebration
as the servant of us all.
Let him dispose our hearts
and give us his courage
to understand and accept others,
to accompany them on the road of life,
to suffer their pains,
to rejoice with their joys
and to carry each other’s burdens,
that he may be with us,
now and for ever.

 

Blessing

We, too, are here to serve rather than to be served. It is not an easy task. Spare others by not sparing yourself. May Almighty God bless you for this, the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

 

Commentary

Fr. Paulo Morlachi was an Italian Missionary who served in Hong Kong as a hospital chaplain for many decades. A motor accident in his youth almost crippled him and he walked with difficulty ever since. But that did not stop him from visiting many hospitals every day without fail, visiting patients and administering them the sacraments. He was old, limping, and was not fluent in the local language, but even years after his death, many people in Hong Kong remember him with affection for the comfort and peace he brought into their lives when they needed it most.

But today we live in a world where we want to stand out above others and prefer to be in places of honour and recognition. In the Gospel today, we have James and John requesting the Lord to consider them to the top position when the Lord establishes his Kingdom. Jesus gives them a beautiful catechesis: “whoever wants to be great, let him be your servant and whoever wants to be first, be the slave of all.”

Fortunately, there are among us great people as Jesus asks us to be. They never appear in the media, nobody gives them recognition. They may not have academic qualifications nor do they possess much wealth, but they do have something that is worth more than material goods: kindness, tenderness and compassion for those in need. Men and women who walk through our streets, simple and ordinary people but who are found at the right moment when you need a word of encouragement, a friendly look, a happy smile, a favour …

Good parents who take time, even if they come tired from the day’s work, to listen to the thousand and one questions of their little children, who enjoy their games and discover the best of life with them. Tireless mothers who fill their homes with love and joy; women who are priceless, because they know how to give their children what they need most at every moment; Spouses who are maturing their love day by day, learning to give in, generously taking care of the happiness of the other, forgiving each other in the thousand little frictions of life.

These are the ones who make life more pleasant and the world more liveable. Jesus said of them that they are “great” because they live at the service of others and help them to live with hope and joy.
In the desert of this world, where only rivalry and confrontation seem to grow, they are small oases where friendship, trust and mutual help sprout. They may never receive a tribute or even a word of thanks, but these men and women – “an uncountable crowd” as Revelation says – are great because they are human.