A Commentary and Reflection on the Readings for the 25th Sunday of Ordinary Time – Year B. The Liturgical Sense of the Scriptures Podcast, by Catholic Author and Theologian David L. Gray. READINGS: Wisdom 2:2, 17-20, James 3:16 – 4:3, and Mark 9:30-37.
The Liturgical Life is a State of Being Possessed by the Love and Truth of God
When John the Baptist declared, “He must increase, but I must decrease,”[1] he was approaching the Beatitude of possessing a pure heart. The person who has a pure heart is imbued with the inner awareness that Christ Jesus and the Holy Spirit dwell within them. The pure heart is divine reality – a type of hypostatic union between the risen Christ and the Baptized, who have died in Christ, signifying that the life bestowed upon us is ours, yet it transcends us for the love and truth of God that has taken possession of us.
Thus, those endowed with purity of heart are guided by good and true intentions, directing their actions not as isolated individuals on an island but as integral members of the mystical body of Christ Jesus. The Apostle Paul elucidated this sacred existence, likening it to being wholly united with the mission of Christ and the Holy Spirit, when he proclaimed, “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain,”[2] and further, “Yet I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me; insofar as I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who has loved me and given himself up for me.”[3] Jesus, in today’s Gospel Reading at Mass for the 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year B, from Mark 9:30-37 responds to His disciples who were disputing among themselves about who was the greatest, imparted the profound truth: “If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.” Here, Christ, who is the true servant of all, teaches that true greatness in found in Him living in us and through us.
So, we can have a life that is either possessed by things of God or by the vanities of self. The former leads to life, while the latter leads to death.
Common characteristics of vain individuals lie in their belief that this world is all they have. Consequently, they often persecute those who have found transcendence beyond mere earthly existence. Should they acknowledge an afterlife or something greater than themselves, their ambitions, self-importance, and possessions would be rendered meaningless—a truth that their inward obsession cannot fathom, and one that would shatter them to their core.
Today’s First Reading from Wisdom 2:2, 17-20, speaks directly to those who deny the afterlife and live solely for earthly pleasures: “For by mere chance were we born, and hereafter we shall be as though we had not been; Because the breath in our nostrils is smoke, and reason a spark from the beating of our hearts.” This underscores the belief that neither their creation nor their destiny is authored or controlled by God.
Similar to today’s Gospel Reading, where Jesus was teaching his disciples and telling them, “The Son of Man is to be handed over to men and they will kill him, and three days after his death the Son of Man will rise,” Wisdom 2:17-20 prophesies the persecution of the Messiah. It vividly portrays how those ensnared in vanity and self-obsession would seek to destroy God to validate their own existence, boldly declaring, “Let us see whether his words be true; let us find out what will happen to him. . . With revilement and torture let us put the just one to the test that we may have proof of his gentleness and try his patience. Let us condemn him to a shameful death; for according to his own words, God will take care of him.”
Indeed, when the light of goodness illuminates our lives, we naturally long for more of that divine radiance. Conversely, when we turn away from this celestial light in favor of the dark mirror of conceit and narcissism, we become akin to murderers and cannibals, devouring the very essence of what is good.
James, in today’s Second Reading from 3:16 – 4:3, identifies jealousy and selfish ambition as the root causes of wars, disorder, and every vile practice. Contrastingly, he exalts the fruits of Wisdom, the indefectible and inexhaustible gift of the Holy Spirit that dwells within each of the Baptized, proclaiming, “Wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peaceable, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, without inconstancy or insincerity. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace for those who cultivate peace.”
Indeed, as these are some of the fruits of the Holy Spirit, they are also some of the fruits of the Body of Christ and the fruit of the liturgy of the Mass, which at its essence is not a thing but a person named Jesus Christ. So, not only is the Divine Symphony of the Mass invoking the Spirit of God to possess us so that we might be like Him; peaceable, gentle, compliant, and merciful, but these fruits should also be the nature of our liturgical community. If a community is not full of peace, mercy and obedience but, instead, is causing strife, division, disobedience, and teaching murderous works, then it is a community not possessed by God but by the satanic spirit of vanity.
This is just one way the readings at Mass this Sunday connect to the liturgy and how the liturgy is forming us on how to live our lives in the world. Be in the world what you have received through the liturgy.
[1] John 3:30
[2] Phillipians 1:21.
[3] Galatians 2:20.
