Readings for Sept. 21-22, Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
By Fr. Edward Looney | For On Mission
In our Gospel this weekend, Jesus confronts the apostles. He does so after spending some time with them and teaching them. As the apostles are walking along the way, they begin arguing about who is the greatest among them.
I bet it was a brotherly rivalry or a competitive spirit overcoming them. Maybe it was lighthearted and they were just joking with each other. Regardless of the underlying motivation, it troubled Jesus enough to address it. Why? He wants them to live differently. He sees or knows about a behavior and he wants them to address it, so they can be holier than they are in that moment. Jesus wants greatness for them.
He asks them, “What were you arguing about on the way?” They become sheepish. Shy. They don’t want to answer. They are reduced to silence. We’ve all been there: caught in the act of doing something, and no words can explain or justify what has happened, so you simply learn the lesson.
There is little difference between the apostles and you and me. Imagine if Jesus walked into your office or joined you at the dinner table with friends. What would he say about the conversations you were having? Would you also be questioned by the Lord?
At times when we examine our consciences, we, too, might be reduced to silence. We think about a sin we committed and Jesus asks us in our heart, “Why did you do this?”
While we can probably trace the motive underlying the sin and how we arrived at committing it, we, too, are probably reduced to silence before the Lord. And like the apostles, in our prayer, we listen to the voice of Jesus speaking in our hearts who gives us a lesson for our spiritual and moral life.
After the apostles are reprimanded for their conversation, they started walking again. How do you think their conversations changed? What became their new subject of conversation?
Have you noticed the gentle nudge of Jesus in your life challenging you? How did you respond? Allow yourself to be reduced to silence before the Lord and take his lesson to heart and begin living it in your life.
Fr. Looney serves as pastor of Sacred Heart Parish, Shawano, and priest celebrant of St. Martin of Tours Parish, Cecil. He is the author of the new book “Places of Grace,” now available on Amazon.
The readings for Sunday, Sept. 22, can be found at Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time | USCCB.
