Trust the Greatest

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to accept the difficult tasks of our journey that open us to experience love and compassion that is the measure of greatness.

Greatest Among us

The reading from the Book of Sirach presents our duties towards God.

* [2:1–11] Serving the Lord is not without its trials (v. 1); but no matter what happens, the genuine believer will remain sincere, steadfast, and faithful (vv. 2–3). Misfortune and humiliation are means of purification to prove one’s worth (vv. 4–5). Ben Sira believed that patience and unwavering trust in God are ultimately rewarded with the benefits of God’s mercy and of lasting joy (vv. 6–11). (Sirach, CHAPTER 2 | USCCB, n.d.)

Psalm 37 is an Exhortation to Patience and Trust.

* [Psalm 37] The Psalm responds to the problem of evil, which the Old Testament often expresses as a question: why do the wicked prosper and the good suffer? The Psalm answers that the situation is only temporary. God will reverse things, rewarding the good and punishing the wicked here on earth. The perspective is concrete and earthbound: people’s very actions place them among the ranks of the good or wicked. Each group or “way” has its own inherent dynamism—eventual frustration for the wicked, eventual reward for the just. The Psalm is an acrostic, i.e., each section begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Each section has its own imagery and logic. (Psalms, PSALM 37 | USCCB, n.d.)

In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus again foretells His Death and Resurrection and the disciples ask “Who Is the Greatest?”

* [9:33–37] Mark probably intends this incident and the sayings that follow as commentary on the disciples’ lack of understanding (Mk 9:32). Their role in Jesus’ work is one of service, especially to the poor and lowly. Children were the symbol Jesus used for the anawim, the poor in spirit, the lowly in the Christian community. (Mark, CHAPTER 9 | USCCB, n.d.)

Rev. Martha Slocombe invites us to start noticing how often we are truly listening in a conversation and how often we are simply waiting in a conversation.  

How do you think God listens to us? In Mark 9 Jesus brings a child into his arms, and today God listens to our prayers lovingly and patiently, no matter how childish or whiny or privileged they may be from God's perspective. Jesus shows us what it means to welcome those with the least power. We are called to offer the same welcome to those in our midst whom we deem the least important or powerful: the ones who seemingly have nothing to offer us. So go out this week and use your power to welcome into conversation those whom in the past you would have ignored or brushed off. (Slocombe, 2025)

Don Schwager quotes “Downward roots enable upward growth,” by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.

"Observe a tree, how it first tends downwards, that it may then shoot forth upwards. It fastens its root low in the ground, that it may send forth its top towards heaven. Is it not from humility that it endeavors to rise? But without humility it will not attain to higher things (Proverbs 18:12). You are wanting to grow up into the air without a root. Such is not growth, but a collapse." (excerpt from THE GOSPEL OF JOHN, SERMON 38.2) (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Mark 9:30-37 comments that in the kingdom of God, greatness lies not in being noticed or praised but in being a servant.

Service and sacrifice are like any skill; if you want to develop it, you need to practice. So stay up later to put away the dishes or take on an extra responsibility at work without being noticed. Every time you put someone else’s needs ahead of your own, you are setting aside your desire to be great and instead reflecting the greatness of your Savior.

“Lord, give me the grace to desire to be last.” (Meditation on Mark 9:30-37, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler comments on our sometimes confusion expressed in Sirach as we seek the Wisdom of God. Our trust of God is demonstrated in an attitude of awe and wonder towards the compassion and mercy extended to us. Friar Jude reminds us that serving the child exhorts us to not expect return except in the joy of service.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, and theologian Matthew Fox introduce the life and teachings of German mystic Meister Eckhart.

The inner person is the soil in which God has sown the divine likeness and image and in which God sows the good seed, the roots of all wisdom, all skills, all virtues, all goodness—the seed of the divine nature…. This is the good tree of which our Lord says that it always bears good fruit and never evil fruit. For it desires goodness and is inclined toward goodness…. 

The seed of God is in us. If the seed had a good, wise, and industrious cultivator, it would thrive all the more and grow up to God whose seed it is, and the fruit would be equal to the nature of God. Now, the seed of a pear tree grows into a pear tree, a hazel seed into a hazel tree, the seed of God into God…. While this seed may be crowded, hidden away, and never cultivated, it will still never be obliterated. It glows and shines, gives off light, burns, and is unceasingly inclined toward God. (Rohr, n.d.)

We can identify with Jesus' disciples in our concern about who is the greatest and how we process the link with greatness to our care for the least among us.

References

Mark, CHAPTER 9 | USCCB. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved February 25, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/mark/9?30 

Meditation on Mark 9:30-37. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved February 25, 2025, from https://wau.org/meditations/2025/02/25/1210351/ 

Psalms, PSALM 37 | USCCB. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved February 25, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/37?3 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). Meister Eckhart: A Mystic Preacher. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved February 25, 2025, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/meister-eckhart-a-mystic-preacher/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). Who Is the Greatest in God's Kingdom? Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved February 25, 2025, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2025&date=feb25 

Sirach, CHAPTER 2 | USCCB. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved February 25, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/sirach/2?1 

Slocombe, M. (2025, February 25). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved February 25, 2025, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/022525.html 

Fruitful Ministry

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to express gratitude for our inventory of gifts and invoke the Spirit of patience and generosity as we support others in our environment.

Patience and Generosity

The reading from the Letter to the Ephesians, describes the Diversity of Gifts for the work of ministry.

* [4:1–16] A general plea for unity in the church. Christians have been fashioned through the Spirit into a single harmonious religious community (one body, Eph 4:4, 12; cf. Eph 4:16), belonging to a single Lord (in contrast to the many gods of the pagan world), and by one way of salvation through faith, brought out especially by the significance of baptism (Eph 4:1–6; cf. Rom 6:1–11). But Christian unity is more than adherence to a common belief. It is manifested in the exalted Christ’s gifts to individuals to serve so as to make the community more Christlike (Eph 4:11–16). This teaching on Christ as the source of the gifts is introduced in Eph 4:8 by a citation of Ps 68:18, which depicts Yahweh triumphantly leading Israel to salvation in Jerusalem. It is here understood of Christ, ascending above all the heavens, the head of the church; through his redemptive death, resurrection, and ascension he has become the source of the church’s spiritual gifts. The “descent” of Christ (Eph 4:9–10) refers more probably to the incarnation (cf. Phil 2:6–8) than to Christ’s presence after his death in the world of the dead (cf. 1 Pt 3:19). (Ephesians, CHAPTER 4 | USCCB, n.d.)

Psalm 122 is a Song of Praise and Prayer for Jerusalem.

* [Psalm 122] A song of Zion, sung by pilgrims obeying the law to visit Jerusalem three times on a journey. The singer anticipates joining the procession into the city (Ps 122:1–3). Jerusalem is a place of encounter, where the people praise God (Ps 122:4) and hear the divine justice mediated by the king (Ps 122:5). The very buildings bespeak God’s power (cf. Ps 48:13–15). May the grace of this place transform the people’s lives (Ps 122:6–9)! (Psalms, PSALM 122 | USCCB, n.d.)

In the Gospel of Luke, the exhortation to Repent or Perish precedes the Parable of the Barren Fig Tree.

* [13:1] The slaughter of the Galileans by Pilate is unknown outside Luke; but from what is known about Pilate from the Jewish historian Josephus, such a slaughter would be in keeping with the character of Pilate. Josephus reports that Pilate had disrupted a religious gathering of the Samaritans on Mount Gerizim with a slaughter of the participants (Antiquities 18:86–87), and that on another occasion Pilate had killed many Jews who had opposed him when he appropriated money from the temple treasury to build an aqueduct in Jerusalem (Jewish War 2:175–77; Antiquities 18:60–62).

* [13:4] Like the incident mentioned in Lk 13:1 nothing of this accident in Jerusalem is known outside Luke and the New Testament.

* [13:6–9] Following on the call to repentance in Lk 13:1–5, the parable of the barren fig tree presents a story about the continuing patience of God with those who have not yet given evidence of their repentance (see Lk 3:8). The parable may also be alluding to the delay of the end time, when punishment will be meted out, and the importance of preparing for the end of the age because the delay will not be permanent (Lk 13:8–9). (Luke, CHAPTER 13 | USCCB, n.d.)

Steve Scholer comments that one of the keys to a healthy spiritual life is to avoid being swept up in the waves and winds of every new key to wellbeing and to keep our spiritual life focused on prayer, forgiveness and living the truth in love.

In the parable of the fig tree, Luke reminds us that not only must we live a prayer-filled life, we need to have great patience when it comes to seeing the results of such a life.  For as with diets and fig trees, our deepening relationship with Christ does not produce results overnight.  Only by faithfully attending to our spiritual needs in prayer and exercising our faith through the good deeds we do for others and with great patience and understanding will the change we so deeply desire rise up within us and become permanent. (Scholer, n.d.)

Don Schwager quotes “The Lord's three visits through the Patriarchs, Prophets, and the Gospel,” by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.

"The Lord also has something very fitting to say about a fruitless tree, 'Look, it is now three years that I have been coming to it. Finding no fruit on it, I will cut it down, to stop it blocking up my field.' The gardener intercedes... This tree is the human race. The Lord visited this tree in the time of the patriarchs, as if for the first year. He visited it in the time of the law and the prophets, as if for the second year. Here we are now; with the gospel the third year has dawned. Now it is as though it should have been cut down, but the merciful one intercedes with the merciful one. He wanted to show how merciful he was, and so he stood up to himself with a plea for mercy. 'Let us leave it,' he says, 'this year too. Let us dig a ditch around it.' Manure is a sign of humility. 'Let us apply a load of manure; perhaps it may bear fruit.' Since it does bear fruit in one part, and in another part does not bear fruit, its Lord will come and divide it. What does that mean, 'divide it'? There are good people and bad people now in one company, as though constituting one body." (excerpt from Sermon 254.3) (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Luke 13:1-9 comments that like the patient gardener in today’s Gospel, he seeks to cultivate us, not uproot us. He tenderly cares for us, fertilizes our lives with his life-giving Spirit, and prunes away any “branches,” or areas, that may be diseased by our sins.

Today, sit quietly before Jesus, the patient Gardener, and give him permission to do the work that will help you bear fruit. Ask him for a Scripture passage that will feed you throughout the day. Let him show you a wound that needs his healing touch or a sinful habit that needs to be trimmed away. Spending this time with Jesus may be one of the most productive things you do all day!

“Jesus, cultivate my heart so that I can bear good fruit in due season.” (Meditation on Luke 13:1-9, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler comments that the descent of Christ in the passage from Ephesians refers to His being born in the flesh. The apostles, pastors, and teachers, who are given the Spirit, are a means by which God speaks to us. Friar Jude explains the sequence of events that has the owner of the fig tree examine it after 7 years, the perfect number, and then extend mercy for an eighth year.

 

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces Rev. Ben McBride who encourages us to listen to our hearts as well as those of our neighbors to build bridges and live out our belonging to one another.

We have to be willing to meet each other on the porch in peace, to make room for each other, to listen to each other. Even if, at first, we might be inclined to presume the other person or group doesn’t belong…. Welcome your neighbor. Have a conversation. Listen not with a need to agree or disagree but with an open heart and a desire to try to understand their perspective…. You never know what you might learn about this other human being. Or what you might learn about yourself. Our ability to sit with each other in that space, through our differences, is the gateway to radical belonging. It is how we learn. It is how we grow. It is how we become. (Rohr, n.d.)

We express gratitude for the many gifts we have to share in our ministry as we seek the guidance of the Spirit in using these gifts to present fullness of life to others.

References

Ephesians, CHAPTER 4 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved October 26, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/ephesians/4? 

Luke, CHAPTER 13 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved October 26, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/13? 

Meditation on Luke 13:1-9. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved October 26, 2024, from https://wau.org/meditations/2024/10/26/1113263/ 

Psalms, PSALM 122 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved October 26, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/122?1 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). Listening for the Divine Voice: Weekly Summary. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved October 26, 2024, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/listening-for-the-divine-voice-weekly-summary/ 

Scholer, S. (n.d.). Daily Reflection Of Creighton University's Online Ministries. OnlineMinistries. Retrieved October 26, 2024, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/102624.html 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). Unless You Repent - You Will Perish. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved October 26, 2024, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2024&date=oct26