First Reading - Wisdom 2:12, 17-20
Second Reading - James 3:16-4:3
Gospel - Mark 9:30-37
I remember
that, when I was a child, my teachers used to say: "You are in a world of
competition. You must prove yourselves to be better than others." In
reality, many times our daily challenge is trying to be better than others, and
this, as St. James says, is a spirit of rivalry. As a result, when someone does
better or tries to do better, jealousy and envy arise within us. Today's
readings invite us to overcome this spirit of competition and jealousy, and to
embrace a spirit of encouragement and recognition towards others, and a spirit
of humility for ourselves.
In the second
reading, St. James makes it clear that jealousy and a spirit of rivalry lead to
disorder and all kinds of evil actions. He urges us to overcome these feelings
through the Wisdom of the Lord, which makes us humble before Him.
In the first
reading, it is evident how jealousy can lead to bad actions. The reading shows
us that the righteous man offends the wicked because his life is upright and
pure. The righteous man troubles them precisely because he does not act like
them. This attitude of the righteous provokes jealousy and envy in the hearts
of the wicked, because his life is just before the Lord. This jealousy drives
his adversaries to want to get rid of him.
In the Gospel,
we see another example of the spirit of competition. We find the disciples
discussing who among them is the greatest. Jesus corrects them, explaining that
true greatness lies in humility, the same humility that sees greatness even in
a child. Jesus teaches that true greatness is not in wanting to show one's
superiority, but in recognizing the greatness of others.
Dear brothers
and sisters, jealousy and a spirit of rivalry bring no good either to us or to
others. Today's readings warn us that these feelings lead to bad actions. We
must therefore overcome and remove these poisons from our lives. But how can we
do this? By embracing the Wisdom of the Lord, which produces humility in us.
Why humility? Because humility instills in us the awareness that we bring
nothing with us from this world, neither the recognition of people nor our
success, but only how we have behaved before the Lord.
Let us pray
that the Lord may grant us the grace of humility for ourselves and the spirit
of encouragement and recognition towards others.
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