“Sometimes Heroes Are
Heroes.”
September 23, 2012, 25th
Sunday in Ordinary Time
Alleluia,
alleluia.
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark
Glory to you, Lord
Glory to you, Lord
Jesus and his disciples
left that place and went on through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know
where He was, because He was teaching his disciples, “The Son of Man is to be
handed over to men who will kill him. Three days later, however, He will rise
to life.” - They did not understand what He was saying, but they were afraid to
ask Him.
They came to Capernaum. When Jesus was in the house, He
asked his disciples, “What were you fellows arguing about on the way?” But
they remained silent. On the way they had been discussing among themselves who
was the greatest. Jesus sat down, called the twelve disciples, and said
to them: ”Who
wishes to be first must place himself last of all, and be the servant of the
rest.” Then He placed his arms around a
little child and said to the twelve: “Whoever welcomes a child in my name welcomes
me. And whoever welcomes me welcomes not
only me but the One who sent me.”
The
Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, Lord
Jesus Christ.
----------------
----------------
Introduction
Summer changed to autumn
In northern climes gold and red leaves cover the
ground now, and they rustle as we shuffle our feet through them on a fine
autumn day. It’s a pleasant sight and good feeling, though there’s a bit of
melancholy in the air. There are even pumpkins now in supermarkets to be carved
into ghoulish faces for Halloween, or, better yet, to be baked into pies for
Thanksgiving Day. Yesterday, Sat. Sept. 22, summer changed to autumn.
Disciples acting like kids
What doesn’t change
is human nature. Journeying through Galilee, the disciples were quarreling
among themselves. When they got to Capernaum, Jesus asked what they were
quarreling about. Scripture says “They would
not answer Him.”(Mk. 9:34) They were ashamed to tell Him. These full-grown men
were arguing about who among them was the greatest! The mentality of
competition and prestige, which characterized the society of the Roman Empire,
was already creeping into the little society of Jesus. He who was the Suffering
Servant of Isaiah[1]
had as his followers a group of men who were arguing about who among them was
the greatest! Jesus scolds his disciples for acting like kids, and He tries to
put them straight about true greatness: ”Who wishes to be first
must place himself last of all, and be the servant of the rest.” (Mk 9:35)
In the very next chapter
of Mark’s gospel, the apostles are still acting like
kids. The two sons of Zebedee, James and John, request Jesus to grant them the honor to
sit one at his right hand and the other at his left when He comes into his Kingdom.
(Mk 10:37) When the other apostles hear about James and
John’s self-seeking request, they’re annoyed. So is Jesus. He straightens them
all out about greatness saying, “I tell you, kings and so-called great people
of this world like to lord it over the others. But it must not be that way with
you. Among you whoever aspires to greatness must be the servant of the rest.”
(Mk 10:42-43)
Serving others – an endangered species
In our culture it’s not the Gospel but the mighty mass media
which defines greatness for us and our kids. The media offers
us the greatness of the rich and famous, the greatness of rock and rap stars, and
of basketball
and football stars. In such a culture it is difficult to make any sense out of
the Gospel injunction that “Who wishes to be first must place himself last of all, and be
the servant of the rest.” (Mk 9:35)
A few of us older
folk remember the days when gas stations were called Service Stations. You drove up to the pump, an attendant came
running out, filled up the tank, washed the window shield and the back window
as well, and then asked whether you wanted the oil checked too. Service Stations really served in those
days. But that’s all gone now. Now there are “Self-Serve” signs at filling
stations, and that pretty well summarizes the spirit of the times: “Serve
yourself because, by gosh, we’re not going to.” In our culture we either do not
have the time to serve others, or it is too costly to serve others, or we are
so taken up with ourselves that it doesn’t dawn on us to serve others. In our
culture the gospel injunction that ”Who wishes to be first
must place himself last of all, and be the servant of the rest” makes very little sense. In our culture serving others has become
an endangered species.
A wrong message from John & James’ mother
In Mark’s gospel it is James and
John who are requesting special seating for themselves in Jesus’ Kingdom. In Matthew’s gospel it’s the mother of James and
John who is making the request in their behalf. She pleads, “Dear Lord, please
grant that my two sons might sit on thrones at your right and left hand when you
come into your Kingdom.” (Mt 20:21) If it is, indeed, the mother who’s making the request, then she’s sending the wrong
message of greatness to her sons. She doesn’t know where their true greatness
really lies, and in all probability she doesn’t know where her own true
greatness really lies.
A wrong message from another mother
We
recall another wrong message of greatness, which was given by a Texas mother to
her daughter. The message was not only wrong, it was also insane! In 1991, Wanda Holloway‘s daughter was not given a spot
on the junior high school's cheerleading squad; the spot instead was given to another
girl. To solve the problem, the mother tried to hire a hit man to kill the
mother of the other girl! She thought that that would so devastate the
competing girl that she would drop out of the squad, and her daughter would then
be given the spot. The mother’s nefarious intention was reported to the police,
and she was arrested the next day. A trial found her guilty and sentenced her to
ten years in prison. She
served only six months of
her sentence. The judge ordered her to serve 9.5 years on probation, and
ordered her to complete 1000 hours of community service. Wanda Holloway puts us in mind of the overly zealous mother
of the two sons of Zebedee who asked the Lord to grant that her sons
might sit on thrones at his right and left hand, when He comes into his
kingdom.
A wrong message from a
father
We recall also the same wrong (and insane) message of greatness which a
father from Reading, Massachusetts gave his son. On July 5, 2000, Thomas Junta, a hefty truck
driver, beat to death the father of a son whose team
won the hockey game, while his own son’s team lost. The case was brought to court, Junta was found
guilty, served eight years in prison, and was released in August of 2010.That case epitomized the worst in parental fervor
over their kids’ sports. Thomas Junta also
puts us in mind of the overly zealous mother of the two sons of Zebedee who
asked the Lord to grant that her two sons might sit on thrones at his right and left hand, when He comes
into his kingdom.
A powerful message from a quarterback
A powerful message of true greatness
radiates from Kurt Warner - Arizona Cardinal quarterback and winner of NFL’s
MVP award. Kurt’s story is one of the best in NFL history. Years ago he was a
stock boy in a supermarket and one day was called to do a carryout job for a
very nice looking girl at Register 4. Later that day he waited at the punch-out
clock. She came, smiled softly at him, punched her card and then left. He saw
that the card read `Brenda.’ Next day he offered to drive her home. He looked
harmless enough, and she accepted. When he dropped her off, he asked whether he
could see her again, and take her out.
She explained she had two children and she couldn't afford a
baby-sitter. He offered to pay for the baby-sitter. She hesitated a bit, and then accepted.
When Saturday
night came and he arrived at the door, she said to him, “I can’t go; the
babysitter cancelled out on me.” He said, “Oh well, let’s take the kids along.”
“That’s really not an option,” she answered. But he wouldn’t take no for an
answer. Finally Brenda invited him in to meet her children. She presented her
very pretty daughter. Then she presented her son: she brought him in on a
wheelchair! He was born a paraplegic with Down syndrome. To her utter
amazement, Kurt said, "I still don't understand why the kids can't come
along." Most men would take off high speed from such a situation as that. Brenda’s
former husband had done precisely that!
That
evening Kurt and Brenda loaded up the kids for dinner and the movies. When the
son needed to go to the rest room, Kurt picked up the little guy and carried
him to the rest room. The kids loved him. A year later, they were married. Kurt
adopted both of her children. Since then they have added five more kids of
their own. Quarterback Kurt, who
announced his retirement from the NFL in 2010, said he was looking forward to
finally being a true father to his seven
kids, and that he wanted to spend more time with his
wife.
Conclusion
“Sometimes heroes are heroes.”
This remarkable story
of Arizona Cardinal quarterback Kurt Warner was e-mailed to me as a kind of
gentle rebuttal to a previous Sunday homily. I had made some unfavorable
remarks about football stars like Michael Vick. Vick was the guy who didn’t
make enough money as an NFL player, so he had to go into the dog-fighting! The e-mail
sent was entitled: “Sometimes heroes are heroes.” Kurt Warner was indeed
a hero not because he was winner of NFL’s MVP award, but because he loaded up
Brenda and her two kids for dinner and the movies, then carried her paraplegic son
to the rest room, and finally married Brenda whose first husband had divorced
her because it was all too much for him. Yes, indeed! “Sometimes heroes are heroes.”
[1]
Isaiah chapters 52 and 53
