Today's Gospel Reading - Sunday, September 23, 2012 with Reflection

1^ST READING - Wisdom 2:12, 17-20

P S A L M - Psalm 54:3-4, 5, 6-8

R: The Lord upholds my life.

1 [3] O God, by your name save me, and by your might defend my cause. 2 [4] O God, hear my prayer; hearken to the words of my mouth.(R) 3 [5] For the haughty have risen up against me, and the ruthless seek my life; they set not God before their eyes. (R) 4 [6] Behold, God is my helper; the Lord sustains my life. 6 [8] Freely will I offer you sacrifice; I will praise your name, O Lord, for its goodness. (R)

2^ND READING - James 3:16-4:3

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION

God has called us through the Gospel to possess the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Mark 9:30-37

30 Jesus and his disciples left from there and began a journey through Galilee, but he did not wish anyone to know about it. 31 He 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 he will rise.” 32 But they did not understand the saying, and they were afraid to question him. 33 They came to Capernaum and, once inside the house, he began to ask them, “What were you arguing about on the way?” 34 But they remained silent. They had been discussing among themselves on the way who was thegreatest. 35 Then he sat down, called the Twelve, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.” 36 Taking a child he placed it in their midst, and putting his arms around it he said to them, 37 “Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but the one who sent me.”

SABBATH

GREATNESS IN SERVICE John F. Kennedy, the first and only Catholic president of the United States, made headlines with this line from his inaugural speech: “Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask rather what you can do for your country.” In a way, he was saying, “Ask not how your country can serve you. Ask rather how you can serve your country.” That was something new. Prior to that speech of his, everyone was of the mentality that the country is there to serve the people and not the other way around. His remark was a complete paradigm shift. But JFK was not an original. Two thousand years ago Jesus proclaimed, “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.” This statement, too, was for the Jews, a complete turnaround. Up until that time, the Jews believed that man was the one to serve God, not the other way around. And yet here before them, Jesus is asking, “What can I do for you?” Instead of allowing Himself to be served, He asked, “How can I serve you?” All through His life Jesus did serve the people. He fed them, gave them drink, healed their sick, taught them, died for them. How was He able to do this? He was open (bukas-palad as we say it in Filipino). When you are open, you are sensitive to the needs of other people. Their world is your world. You allow them to affect you. That’s why Jesus was able to serve. As Christians, Jesus calls us to service. But before we ask for the grace to be servants, let us first ask for the grace to be open, for openness is a prerequisite of service. One can never serve unless he is open. Look at different business establishments. How do they declare their readiness to be of service? They say, “We’re open to serve you.” We will never see a sign which says, “Closed to serve you,” because openness is a requirement for service. Today, let us declare our readiness to serve. But first, let us declare before the Lord our readiness to be open. Fr. Joel Jason REFLECTION QUESTION: Do you dream of a greatness that flows from service? Purify my dreams, O Lord. Make me partake of that greatness that embraces humble service. St. Padre Pio da Pietrelcina, pray for us. Do you want to receive this in your email?  To get Bo Sanchez to send it to you personally, log-on to http://kerygmafamily.com. Lots of surprises await.