Daily Readings - Tue May 21 2024
James
1What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you?2You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask.3You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.4You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.5Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, "He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us"?6But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble."7Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.8Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.9Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.10Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
Mark
30They went on from there and passed through Galilee. And he did not want anyone to know,31for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, "The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed, after three days he will rise."32But they did not understand the saying, and were afraid to ask him.33And they came to Capernaum. And when he was in the house he asked them, "What were you discussing on the way?"34But they kept silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest.35And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, "If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all."36And he took a child and put him in the midst of them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them,37"Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me."
Sermon
The readings today invite us to reflect on the dangers of ambition, pride, and selfishness, while also offering a path toward humility, service, and union with God. In the first reading from James, we are reminded that conflicts and divisions arise from our own desires and envy. James calls us to recognize that our struggles often stem from seeking the things of the world, which can lead us away from God. He urges us to humble ourselves, to draw near to God, and to seek His grace, for it is in humility that we find true exaltation.
In the Gospel, Mark presents Jesus teaching His disciples about His upcoming passion and resurrection, but they fail to understand. Instead, they argue among themselves about who is the greatest. Jesus responds by teaching them—and us—that true greatness is found in service and humility. He uses the example of a child to illustrate that receiving the least among us is equivalent to receiving Christ Himself. This teaching challenges us to reorient our priorities, to let go of our selfish ambitions, and to embrace a life of love and service.
These readings remind us that our lives are often marked by struggles and competitions, but these are rooted in our own pride and desires. Jesus and James call us to a different way: a way of humility, surrender, and selfless love. As we go about our daily lives, let us ask ourselves: Am I seeking to serve or to be served? Am I drawing near to God, or am I chasing the fleeting things of the world? May we humbly seek God’s grace, embrace the beauty of service, and find true greatness in the eyes of God.