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From: Sirach 36:1, 4-5a, 10-17

Prayer for Israel

[1] Have mercy upon us, O Lord,
the God of all, and look upon us,
[4] As in us thou hast been sanctified before them,
so in them be thou magnified before us;
[5a] and let them know thee.
[10] Crush the heads of the rulers of the enemy,
who say. “There is no one but ourselves.”
[11] Gather all the tribes of Jacob,
and give them their inheritance, as at the beginning.
[12] Have mercy, O Lord, upon the people called by thy name,
upon Israel, whom thou hast likened to a first-born son.
[13] Have pity on the city of thy sanctuary,
Jerusalem, the place of thy rest.
[14] Fill Zion with the celebration of thy wondrous deeds,
and thy temple with thy glory.
[15] Bear witness to those whom thou didst create in the beginning,
and fulfill the prophecies spoken in thy name.
[16] Reward those who wait for thee,
and let thy prophets be found trustworthy.
[17] Hearken, O Lord, to the prayer of thy servants,
according to the blessing of Aaron for thy people,
and all who are on the earth will know
that thou art the Lord, the God of the ages.

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Commentary:

36:1-17. This prayer addressed to on behalf of the people of Israel recalls his mi-
ghty deeds and asks for his further help. It does not argue that the people have
merited God’s intervention as a reward for their actions, but it appeals to the pro-
mises he made; it will redound to his glory.

This is one of the few passages in Sirach that looks forward to the messianic
times when God will restore Israel. God’s response to Israel’s appeal went much
further than the Jews envisaged: he used Israel to extend salvation to all man-
kind: “At all times and in every place, anyone who fears God and does what is
right has been acceptable to him (cf. Acts 10:35). He has, however, willed to
make men holy and save them, not as individuals without any bond or link be-
tween them, but rather to make them into a people who might acknowledge him
and serve him in holiness. He therefore chose the Israelite race to be his own
people and established a covenant with it. He gradually instructed this people —
in its history manifesting both himself and the decree of his will — and made it
holy unto himself. All these, things, however happened as a preparation that new
and perfect covenant was to be ratified in Christ, and of the fuller revelation which
was to be given through the Word of God made flesh” (Vatican II, “Lumen Gen-
tium”, 9).

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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

From: Mark 10:32-45

Third Prophecy of the Passion

[32] And they (the disciples) were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus
was walking ahead of them; and they were amazed, and those who followed were
afraid. And taking the Twelve again, He began to tell them what was to happen to
Him, [33] saying, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem; and the Son of Man will
be delivered to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn Him to
death, and deliver Him to the Gentiles; [34] and they will mock Him, and spit up-
on Him, and scourge Him, and kill Him; and after three days He will rise.”

The Sons of Zebedee Make Their Request

[35] And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward to Him, and said
to Him, “Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask of You.” [36] And
He said to them, “What do you want Me to do for you?” [37] And they said to
Him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.”
[38] But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you
able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which
I am baptized?” [39] And they said to Him, “We are able.” And Jesus said to
them, “The cup that I drink you will drink; and with the baptism with which I am
baptized, you will be baptized; [40] but to sit at My right hand or at My left is not
Mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.” [41] And when
the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John. [42] And Jesus
called them to Him and said to them, “You know that those who are supposed
to rule over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority
over them. [43] But it shall not be so among you; but whoever would be great
among you must be your servant, [44] and whoever would be first among you
must be slave of all. [45] For the Son of Man also came not to be served but to
serve, and to give His life as a ransom of many.”

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Commentary:

32. Jesus was making His way to Jerusalem with a burning desire to see fulfilled
everything that He had foretold about His passion and death. He had already told
His disciples that He would suffer there, which is why they cannot understand
His eagerness. By His own example He is teaching us to carry the cross gladly,
not to try to avoid it.

35-44. We can admire the Apostles’ humility: they do not disguise their earlier
weakness and shortcomings from the first Christians. God also has wanted the
Holy Gospel to record the earlier weaknesses of those who will become the un-
shakeable pillars of the Church. The grace of God works wonders in people’s
souls: so we should never be pessimistic in the face of our own wretchedness:
“I can do all things in Him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13).

38. When we ask for anything in prayer, we should be ready, always, to accept
God’s will, even if it does not coincide with our own: “His Majesty knows best
what is suitable for us; it is not for us to advise Him what to give us, for He can
rightly reply that we know not what we ask” (St. Teresa, “Mansions”, II, 8).

43-45. Our Lord’s word and example encourage in us a genuine spirit of Christian
service. Only the Son of God who came down from Heaven and freely submitted
to humiliation (at Bethlehem, Nazareth, Calvary, and in the Sacred Host) can ask
a person to make himself last, if he wishes to be first.

The Church, right through history, continues Christ’s mission of service to man-
kind: “Experienced in human affairs, the Church, without attempting to interfere
in any way in the politics of States, ‘seeks but a solitary goal: to carry forward
the work of Christ Himself under the lead of the befriending Spirit. And Christ en-
tered this world to give witness to the truth, to rescue and not to sit in judgment,
to serve and not to be served’ (Vatican II, “Gaudium Et Spes”, 3). Sharing the no-
blest aspirations of men and suffering when she sees them not satisfied, she wi-
shes to help them attain their full flowering, and that is why she offers men what
she possesses as her characteristic attribute: a global vision of man and of the
human race” (Paul VI, “Populorum Progressio”, 13).

Our attitude should be that of our Lord: we should seek to serve God and men
with a truly supernatural outlook, not expecting any return; we should serve even
those who do not appreciate the service we do them. This undoubtedly does not
make sense, judged by human standards. However, the Christian identified with
Christ takes “pride” precisely in serving others; by so doing he shares in Christ’s
mission and thereby attains his true dignity: “This dignity is expressed in readi-
ness to serve, in keeping with the example of Christ, who ‘came not to be served
but to serve.’ If, in the light of this attitude of Christ’s, ‘being a king’ is truly possi-
ble only by ‘being a servant’, then ‘being a servant’ also demands so much spiri-
tual maturity that it must really be described as ‘being a king.’ In order to be able
to serve others worthily and effectively we must be able to master ourselves, pos-
sess the virtues that make this mastery possible” (Bl. John Paul II, “Redemptor
Hominis”, 21). Cf. note on Matthew 20:27-28.

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Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (To the Greater Glory of God)

For: Wednesday, May 29, 2013

8th Week in Ordinary Time