Sometimes the two different readings for our daily liturgy seem to converge and offer us a particularly powerful lesson. I think that is true of today's selections.
The Book of Sirach includes a poetic prayer asking God to demonstrate His power. The sentiments should not be foreign to us. I suspect that all of us have on more than one occasion thought how good it would feel to see God act in our favor against those who oppose us: Give new signs and work new wonders; show forth the splendor of your right hand and arm. Rouse your anger, pour out wrath; humble the enemy, scatter the foe. (Sirach 36:6-9) I cannot read this poetic prayer without images of Tevye from Fiddler on the Roof singing "If I were a rich man." Would it spoil some vast, eternal plan if just for once the good guys won?
The passage from St. Mark's Gospel records the third time Jesus warns his followers of the impending doom that awaits them upon their arrival in Jerusalem. Upon resuming their journey, James and John make the words of Sirach their own. They want to come out on the winning side.
Jesus assures them that they will indeed win. However, the path to the trophy is not what they have in mind. The only way to win is to lose. The only way to be served is to serve. The path to success is ignominy in the form of a cross. God does indeed act to humble the enemy. Unfortunately, all too often we fail to realize that the enemy is our selfish desire to be "top dog."
Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator