September 20, 2015
Gospel: Mk 9:30-37
Jesus and his disciples left from there and began a
journey through Galilee, but he did not wish anyone to know about it. He was
teaching his disciples and telling them, "The Son of Man is to be handed
over to men and they will kill him, and three days after his death the Son of
Man will rise." But they did not understand the saying, and they were
afraid to question him.
They came to Capernaum and, once inside the house, he
began to ask them, "What were you arguing about on the way?" But they
remained silent. They had been discussing among themselves on the way who was
the greatest. Then he sat down, called the Twelve (1), and said to them, "If anyone
wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all."
Taking a child, he placed it in the their midst, and putting his arms around
it, he said to them, "Whoever receives one child such as this in my name,
receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but the One (2)
who sent me."
The difficult words
(1)The Twelve are the twelve apostles of Jesus.
(2) The One who sent Jesus is God the
Father.
This week’s spotlight
Striking your breast
During certain prayers, you strike your breast with
your right hand. In the Bible, this gesture means that the person recognizes
his sins and is sorry for them. This is a sign of humility and a way of asking
forgiveness from God. We make this gesture during the "I confess to
almighty God” the "Lamb of God,” and before communion by saying, "Lord,
I am not worthy to receive you." By recognizing that we are sinners, we
ask God to save us from sin and death.
Reflection
Look at this key ring! Have you ever seen so many
keys? They come in all different shapes and sizes. Which of these keys do you
think is the most important? Well, if I want to get into my house, this would
be the most important key. If I wanted to drive my car, this key would be the
most important. Look at this little tiny key. Surely it couldn't be very
important. Unless, of course, I needed to get into my locked suitcase. Then it
would be pretty important!
It would be pretty silly to argue about which of these
keys is the most important, wouldn't it? How about people? Have you ever heard
people arguing among themselves about which of them is the greatest? I have!
You might be surprised to know that even Jesus' disciples had such an argument.
One day the disciples were walking along the road with Jesus and they began
arguing among themselves. Jesus overheard them, and when they got to the place
where they were going, he asked, "What were you arguing about on the
road?" The disciples suddenly got very quiet. They were embarrassed
because they had been arguing about which of them was the greatest.
Jesus sat down and called his disciples to him.
"If anyone wants to be first," he said, "he must be the very
last, and be the servant of everyone else."
Now that wasn't exactly what the disciples wanted to
hear. They were hoping to hear Jesus say that they were going to have a
position of great importance in his kingdom. Instead, Jesus called a little
child over to him a took him in his arms. "Anyone who welcomes one of
these little children also welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me, also welcomes
the one who sent me."
There are a lot of keys on my key ring. One key you
won't find on this key ring is the key to greatness. The key to greatness is to
have a servant's heart. A heart like Jesus.
Discussion questions
1. What were the disciples arguing about as they journeyed with Jesus?
2. What did Jesus tell them?
3. Do you think God cares if people are famous?
4. What will make us great in God's eyes?
Praying after Communion
After
receiving Holy Communion,
you can say this prayer silently to yourself. If you
have not yet
received your First Communion, you can still say this prayer because of your desire to
receive Jesus.
Father, through Jesus, in
communion with the whole Church, I thank you for coming into my heart. Lord,
through this communion with the body and blood of your Son Jesus, you show us
how to really be in first place: by loving others and putting them first. May
this nourishment give us the courage to rejoice at being little.
Word search Puzzle
http://www.loyolapress.com - http://usccb.org/bible/readings-audio.cfm