The LORD was pleased to crush him in infirmity. If he gives his life as an offering for sin, he shall see his descendants in a long life, and the will of the LORD shall be accomplished through him. Because of his affliction he shall see the light in fullness of days; through his suffering, my servant shall justify many, and their guilt he shall bear.
Responsorial Psalm – Psalms 33:4-5, 18-19, 20, 22
R. (22) Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you. Upright is the word of the LORD, and all his works are trustworthy. He loves justice and right; of the kindness of the LORD the earth is full. R. Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you. See, the eyes of the LORD are upon those who fear him, upon those who hope for his kindness, To deliver them from death and preserve them in spite of famine. R. Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you. Our soul waits for the LORD, who is our help and our shield. May your kindness, O LORD, be upon us who have put our hope in you. R. Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.
2nd Reading – Hebrews 4:14-16 Brothers and sisters: Since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has similarly been tested in every way, yet without sin.
Alleluia – Mark 10:45 R. Alleluia, alleluia. 45 The Son of Man came to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel – Mark 10:35-45 James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” He replied, “What do you wish me to do for you?” They answered him, “Grant that in your glory we may sit one at your right and the other at your left.” Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I drink or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” They said to him, “We can.” 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; but to sit at my right or at my left is not mine to give but is for those for whom it has been prepared". When the ten heard this, they became indignant at James and John. Jesus summoned them and said to them, “You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones make their authority over them felt. But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all. For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
FAUSTI - "What do you want me to do for you?" Ask Jesus to James and John. They don't yet know how to pray to Him. As blind as they are, they ask for the opposite of what He wants to give. Jesus is not the Christ of their desires, but the One who is God's promise. They love Him; but in their own way, without knowing Him. They have made it like an' unknown, to whom they always give the value of their will to power, and it is instinctive for man to make his own desires his own absolute. It doesn't matter if it's called Jupiter, Manitù, JHWH or Jesus: it's the same thing that's indicated. Until recently, it also bore the proper name of Stalin, Hitler, Mao, etc. or the common name of religious or secular ideologies of salvation. Now it identifies itself with the concrete names of pleasure, well-being, production, clean and safe energy, etc. or with the different sciences that claim to say the last word. Man naturally replaces God with any name that guarantees him to pursue his own desires; rather, the divine criterion of salvation is the "Body" of Jesus (1 Jn 4:2), that is, his weakness up to the cross that disappoints all expectations of man, religious or not.The disciples' reaction to the third prediction of passion is worse than the previous ones, after the first one there was the explicit dispute with Peter, who thinks according to men and not according to God (8,32), after the second one everyone misunderstood and remained silent, wanting to argue about who was the greatest (9.32). We would now expect a minimum of understanding. But it is as if Jesus had said nothing... The two beloved ones, instead of listening to Him and doing His will, want Him to do theirs! They want Him to guarantee in heaven their delirium of omnipotence on earth. But isn't that,above all, what all "religious" people ask their god? Abraham, the model of believers, was the first not to exchange faith with his own certainties, the truth with his own security. Man is desire. There is always something missing, so he searches and asks. Jesus educates the disciples' desire, so that they can seek and ask what God wants to give. We find ourselves here in the decisive encounter between the desire of God for man and the desire of man for God. At stake is the very essence of God: Glory. For Jesus, it is the love that becomes servant, slave and last of all; for men of all races (including favorite disciples!) it consists of worldly, disguised or less good intentions. The disciples have the same sin of the world. It doesn't matter, because every sinner is saved! It is serious, however, not to recognize it, because those who do not recognize it stay there. The "It is not like that among you" is the great miracle that Jesus performs in His community, illuminating it with His Glory; the disciple is the one who passes from the question of the religious man, personified by James and John, to that of the blind man of Jericho (v 21.47...). The two brothers are to be thanked for showing the others ten and those who read their blindness, Jesus concludes his teaching, intended to make us admit our blindness, the Doctor has given us the diagnosis; He waits for us to allow him to heal us.
29th T.O. B - Lodovico Ing Giarlotto - Deacon Theme. The pain that redeems. In the 1st Reading, Isaiah presents the Servant of the Lord (Jesus) as a "man of sorrows who knows well the suffering" and "will justify many ...". The Psalm alludes to the resurrection: "...to deliver Him from death...". Of Jesus, the Letter to the Hebrews affirms: "... tried in all things, ...". In the Gospel, Jesus himself affirms that the Son of Man "... came to ... give His life as a ransom for many". 1st Reading. The prophet Isaiah describes the sufferings of the Servant, despised, abandoned and considered by men as punished by God, while, in vv. 10-11, narrating his sacrificial death, he highlights its salvific meaning. The Servant is not a sinner punished for his own sins, he does not suffer God's punishment, but by giving Himself up to death and taking upon Himself the sins of the multitude, He becomes an expiatory sacrifice for others and brings God's plan and will to fulfillment. Psalm. The alphabetical hymn (22 verses) is called "urrah!", a war cry hailing the ark and Yahweh king; after the Babylonian exile, the hymn and the term entered the ovations of the liturgy of processions and the Temple. The Psalm invites the righteous to praise the Lord . The Lord is worthy of praise because He is faithful, just and good . Let all the inhabitants of the earth fear the Lord who directs human history. Israel has become the beloved people . The Lord is the only one who can save and give victory . 2nd Reading. Jesus is able to understand our weaknesses because He Himself was tempted in everything, like us. However, while we are often unfaithful to God, He never gave in to sin. This statement shows us Jesus is very near to our problems. He knows how difficult it is to remain faithful to God, especially when we are tested by pain. A little later the author adds: although He was Son of God, He learned from what He suffered how hard it is for man to obey and accept God's will . Gospel. In the previous verses, the Master, for the third time, announces His destiny of death. It seems impossible that, after hearing such clear Words, the apostles would still think that Jesus would go up to Jerusalem to start an earthly kingdom. Yet James and John present themselves to Jesus and say to Him, "We want You to do what we ask of You!" . They demand, as one who claims a right. Jesus, in responding, is harsh and severe: "You do not know what you are asking." Then, to help them understand, He introduces two images: that of the chalice and that of baptism. In Israel, the one who occupied the first place at table used to offer a drink from his chalice to the person he preferred. The chalice indicates the destiny, good or bad, of a person. Jesus knows that a cup of sorrow awaits Him. The image of baptism has the same meaning: it indicates the passage through the waters of death. Are James and John ready to drink the Master's cup and receive His Baptism? The reaction of the other ten shows that they too are far from having assimilated the Master's thought.
--> Jesus takes the Word again to clarify the theme of hierarchies: "You know that those who are considered the leaders of the nations dominate them and their great ones exercise power over them". Jesus speaks of those who "exercise complete dominion" over others and, what is more, ... "claim to be called benefactors" (Lk 22:25). Is it these authorities to whom the disciples want to draw inspiration? Jesus orders His disciples in a peremptory way: "But not among you like this. The model to imitate, He explains, is the slave, the one who occupies the lowest level in society, the one to whom everyone has the right to give orders. Jesus places Himself in the midst of His own as the One who serves and reminds everyone that: "The Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve" . He does not demand that His feet be washed; it is He Himself who leans down to wash the disciples' feet. The Master's severe message is addressed to all those in the Church who are invested with authority, but not only. Whoever wants to follow the Master must behave as the "servant" of all.
1st Reading – Isaiah 53:10-11
RispondiEliminaThe LORD was pleased to crush him in infirmity. If he gives his life as an offering for sin, he shall see his descendants in a long life, and the will of the LORD shall be accomplished through him.
Because of his affliction he shall see the light in fullness of days; through his suffering, my servant shall justify many, and their guilt he shall bear.
Responsorial Psalm –
Psalms 33:4-5, 18-19, 20, 22
R. (22) Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.
Upright is the word of the LORD,
and all his works are trustworthy.
He loves justice and right;
of the kindness of the LORD the earth is full.
R. Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.
See, the eyes of the LORD are upon those who fear him,
upon those who hope for his kindness,
To deliver them from death
and preserve them in spite of famine.
R. Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.
Our soul waits for the LORD,
who is our help and our shield.
May your kindness, O LORD, be upon us
who have put our hope in you.
R. Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.
2nd Reading – Hebrews 4:14-16
Brothers and sisters:
Since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession.
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has similarly been tested in every way, yet without sin.
Alleluia – Mark 10:45
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
45 The Son of Man came to serve
and to give his life as a ransom for many.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel – Mark 10:35-45
James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.”
He replied, “What do you wish me to do for you?”
They answered him, “Grant that in your glory we may sit one at your right and the other at your left.”
Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I drink or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?”
They said to him, “We can.” 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;
but to sit at my right or at my left is not mine to give but is for those for whom it has been
prepared". When the ten heard this, they became indignant at James and John.
Jesus summoned them and said to them, “You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones make their authority over them felt.
But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant;
whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all.
For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
FAUSTI - "What do you want me to do for you?" Ask Jesus to James and John. They don't yet know how to pray to Him. As blind as they are, they ask for the opposite of what He wants to give. Jesus is not the Christ of their desires, but the One who is God's promise. They love Him; but in their own way, without knowing Him. They have made it like an' unknown, to whom they always give the value of their will to power, and it is instinctive for man to make his own desires his own absolute. It doesn't matter if it's called Jupiter, Manitù, JHWH or Jesus: it's the same thing that's indicated. Until recently, it also bore the proper name of Stalin, Hitler, Mao, etc. or the common name of religious or secular ideologies of salvation. Now it identifies itself with the concrete names of pleasure, well-being, production, clean and safe energy, etc. or with the different sciences that claim to say the last word.
RispondiEliminaMan naturally replaces God with any name that guarantees him to pursue his own desires; rather, the divine criterion of salvation is the "Body" of Jesus (1 Jn 4:2), that is, his weakness up to the cross that disappoints all expectations of man, religious or not.The disciples' reaction to the third prediction of passion is worse than the previous ones, after the first one there was the explicit dispute with Peter, who thinks according to men and not according to God (8,32), after the second one everyone misunderstood and remained silent, wanting to argue about who was the greatest (9.32). We would now expect a minimum of understanding. But it is as if Jesus had said nothing... The two beloved ones, instead of listening to Him and doing His will, want Him to do theirs! They want Him to guarantee in heaven their delirium of omnipotence on earth.
But isn't that,above all, what all "religious" people ask their god? Abraham, the model of believers, was the first not to exchange faith with his own certainties, the truth with his own security. Man is desire. There is always something missing, so he searches and asks. Jesus educates the disciples' desire, so that they can seek and ask what God wants to give. We find ourselves here in the decisive encounter between the desire of God for man and the desire of man for God.
At stake is the very essence of God: Glory. For Jesus, it is the love that becomes servant, slave and last of all; for men of all races (including favorite disciples!) it consists of worldly, disguised or
less good intentions. The disciples have the same sin of the world. It doesn't matter, because every sinner is saved! It is serious, however, not to recognize it, because those who do not recognize it stay there.
The "It is not like that among you" is the great miracle that Jesus performs in His community, illuminating it with His Glory; the disciple is the one who passes from the question of the religious man, personified by James and John, to that of the blind man of Jericho (v 21.47...). The two brothers are to be thanked for showing the others ten and those who read their blindness, Jesus concludes his teaching, intended to make us admit our blindness, the Doctor has given us the diagnosis; He waits for us to allow him to heal us.
29th T.O. B - Lodovico Ing Giarlotto - Deacon
RispondiEliminaTheme. The pain that redeems. In the 1st Reading, Isaiah presents the Servant of the Lord (Jesus) as a "man of sorrows who knows well the suffering" and "will justify many ...". The Psalm alludes to the resurrection: "...to deliver Him from death...". Of Jesus, the Letter to the Hebrews affirms: "... tried in all things, ...". In the Gospel, Jesus himself affirms that the Son of Man "... came to ... give His life as a ransom for many".
1st Reading. The prophet Isaiah describes the sufferings of the Servant, despised, abandoned and considered by men as punished by God, while, in vv. 10-11, narrating his sacrificial death, he highlights its salvific meaning. The Servant is not a sinner punished for his own sins, he does not suffer God's punishment, but by giving Himself up to death and taking upon Himself the sins of the multitude, He becomes an expiatory sacrifice for others and brings God's plan and will to fulfillment.
Psalm. The alphabetical hymn (22 verses) is called "urrah!", a war cry hailing the ark and Yahweh king; after the Babylonian exile, the hymn and the term entered the ovations of the liturgy of processions and the Temple. The Psalm invites the righteous to praise the Lord . The Lord is worthy of praise because He is faithful, just and good . Let all the inhabitants of the earth fear the Lord who directs human history. Israel has become the beloved people . The Lord is the only one who can save and give victory .
2nd Reading. Jesus is able to understand our weaknesses because He Himself was tempted in everything, like us. However, while we are often unfaithful to God, He never gave in to sin. This statement shows us Jesus is very near to our problems. He knows how difficult it is to remain faithful to God, especially when we are tested by pain. A little later the author adds: although He was Son of God, He learned from what He suffered how hard it is for man to obey and accept God's will .
Gospel. In the previous verses, the Master, for the third time, announces His destiny of death. It seems impossible that, after hearing such clear Words, the apostles would still think that Jesus would go up to Jerusalem to start an earthly kingdom. Yet James and John present themselves to Jesus and say to Him, "We want You to do what we ask of You!" . They demand, as one who claims a right. Jesus, in responding, is harsh and severe: "You do not know what you are asking." Then, to help them understand, He introduces two images: that of the chalice and that of baptism. In Israel, the one who occupied the first place at table used to offer a drink from his chalice to the person he preferred. The chalice indicates the destiny, good or bad, of a person. Jesus knows that a cup of sorrow awaits Him. The image of baptism has the same meaning: it indicates the passage through the waters of death. Are James and John ready to drink the Master's cup and receive His Baptism?
The reaction of the other ten shows that they too are far from having assimilated the Master's thought.
--> Jesus takes the Word again to clarify the theme of hierarchies: "You know that those who are considered the leaders of the nations dominate them and their great ones exercise power over them". Jesus speaks of those who "exercise complete dominion" over others and, what is more, ... "claim to be called benefactors" (Lk 22:25). Is it these authorities to whom the disciples want to draw inspiration? Jesus orders His disciples in a peremptory way: "But not among you like this. The model to imitate, He explains, is the slave, the one who occupies the lowest level in society, the one to whom everyone has the right to give orders. Jesus places Himself in the midst of His own as the One who serves and reminds everyone that: "The Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve" . He does not demand that His feet be washed; it is He Himself who leans down to wash the disciples' feet.
RispondiEliminaThe Master's severe message is addressed to all those in the Church who are invested with authority, but not only. Whoever wants to follow the Master must behave as the "servant" of all.