An Exegetical Reflection on the Gospel of the Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B, Mark 9:30-37, September 23, 2012
THE PERCEPTION THAT capitalism—an economic system
characterized by private or corporate ownership of capital goods, private
decision, and competition on a free market—is not necessarily the best economic
system in the world is not new. Karl
Marx has shown as its ugly head, and even presented an alternative system
distinguished for its emphasis on state control and elimination of private
property. But the more than 70-year
experiment of Russian Leninism and Stalinism proved that heaven is nowhere
nearer under a Communist regime, and therefore that one cannot take the
alternative economic theory hook, line and sinker, for all its avowed
promises. It was for this reason that
Gorbachev advocated perestroika, the restructuring of the system. For one thing, the Russians after all had a
desire similar to the capitalists’: a
better life, and integrity in life. On
the other hand, a shift to some form of capitalism would cost the people
much. But if such a life is to be
attained, some things have to be given up, however central they are to the
political belief, such as too much government control, and too much state
ownership.
We,
Christians, also speak of a better life.
In the 2nd Reading (Jas 3:16-4:3), James refers to it as the
Christian way of life that all of us must aspire for. That life is not simply characterized by
freedom from hunger and want, political equality and participation. It is rather known for the relationship that
obtains among the community members—peaceableness, leniency, docility, richness
in sympathy, kindly deeds, impartiality, sincerity, and justice (Jas 3:17). Without them, a Christian community cannot
live in peace. There may be plenty of
food, wine, clothing and fine things, but they would not live in harmony,
because human passion, which gives rise to covetousness and jealousy, would
prevail. Hence, it may be said that such
a life is one that is lived according to the wisdom of God.
How
is such a life attainted? Like the
Russians of Gorbachev, Christians must undergo a kind of perestroika, a form of
value reorientation. In fact, it calls
for a reversal of values. In our life
that is secularized, there are so many values that have to be reversed, but our
Gospel (Mark 9:30-37) focuses on one value: the value of greatness. In our largely secular world, what is
greatness? Who is the greatest? It is commonly held that greatness is measured
in terms of success. A person is
considered great if he has made it in business or in politics, if he has
accumulated vast wealth and power, if he has landed on the front pages of Time
or Newsweek. Having succeeded
in life, they have even become untouchable.
And people regard them as respectable, no matter the way they acquired
their wealth and power. Thus, greatness
is oriented toward what a person has: wealth, honor and fame.
But
the Gospel holds a different view of greatness.
In the story about the discussion among the disciples on who was the
greatest, the most important, among them, Jesus, who overheard them, declared:
“If anyone wishes to rank first, he must remain the last one of all and the
servant of all” (Mark 9:35). Such a view
implies, of course, that the disciples must reverse the commonly accepted
values and, consequently, alter their thinking, behavior, and the way they
perceive the world and other people. The
greatest person, far from being one who has amassed power and wealth, is one
who has offered his life for the service of the community, who has looked after
the needs of its members. This explains
why Jesus rejected the pagan values of power and domination. Though they may be held in high esteem among
pagans, they have definitely no place in the Christian community: “You know how among the Gentiles those who
seem to exercise authority lord it over them; their great ones make their
importance felt. It cannot be like that
among you. Anyone among you who aspires
to greatness must serve the rest; whoever want to rank first must serve the
needs of all” (Mark 10:42b-43).
To illustrate what it means to be
servant of the community, Jesus pointed to a little child (Mark 9:37). Since in the Jewish society at the time of
Jesus, a child was a symbol of the person who had no rights at all, whose
importance was not recognized, to accept a child is to accept anyone in the
community, however lowly, make oneself available to him, suffer even for the scum
of the earth, and recognize oneself as no better than the marginal in the
community. Having this attitude, we no
longer aspire for greatness in terms of power, wealth, fame or importance. Indeed, what makes it difficult for us to
realize an authentic Christian life is our aspiration for these secular
values. They inflame our passion, and,
as James observes, “where do the conflicts and disputes among you
originate? Is it not your inner cravings
that make war within your members? What
you desire you do not obtain, and so you resort to murder. You envy and you cannot acquire, so you
quarrel and fight” (Jas 4:1-2b).
But once we reverse our value system, and once we
begin to see that greatness lies in service to the community, then we will no
longer crave for these secular values, and real peace in the community will be
secured. Of course, like the Russian
perestroika that was not wholly acceptable to many soviets, a Christian
reversal in thinking and acting would entail much pain, and would even be unpalatable
to many, for it would unsettle them from their comfort and privilege. But then, we have to undergo this process if
we wish to achieve the real Christian way of life, even as Jesus had to be
delivered into the hands of men and put to death in order to achieve the glory
of the resurrection (Mark 9:31).
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