29TH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME HOMILY – YEAR B 2024
SERVICE AND SACRIFICE
Mk 10.35-45 Heb 4.14-16 Is 53.10-11
Well, so much for springtime, as the rain pours down, refreshing the flora and enhancing the growth and the greenery. I am fascinated with the way the orchids on my verandah sprout and flower, with absolutely no help at all on my part! They just appear and flourish, so, once again, reflecting the wonder of nature.
This week, we had a prayer service with a gathering of school staff at St Therese’s to remember Trish Rocca, one of our loveliest teachers and leaders, to mark her first anniversary, placing a memorial plaque in the school yard. I mention this here, as, without exaggeration, Trish was one of the most humble and unassuming people you could meet.
Without exception, others spoke of her as always there to encourage, to offer a kind word, and to have suggestions about how to be an effective teacher and guide to the children in our care. And not only that, as she was thoughtful and generous with her time and energy, making ‘with love’, as she’d write, packets of home cooked biscuits for staff, even including me, at Christmas. She had 3 adult children, who came along to her memorial, 2 of whom had followed her and their father into teaching. Trish herself had faced earlier adversity, with her husband Michael dying of cancer at only 49, but there was no bitterness or resentment evident there, despite the fact that life can be so unfair. And when she was afflicted with serious illness herself, faced up bravely to the treatment it was hoped would get her through, even though, in the end, sadly it did not.
As teacher David Rulli, REL (Religious Education Leader) put it well: “We gather to remember Trish, her smile, her warmth, the way she always put others first.,, to give thanks for beautiful person and a life well lived”. Trish was actively involved in parish life at Pascoe Vale, as well as balancing her family and teaching commitments. Other teachers spoke of her being such an encouraging and friendly role model in helping them in their careers, the ups and downs of their own lives, and their approach to children in the classroom and beyond.
Meanwhile, the journey of discipleship continues in Mark’s Gospel, with apostles as slow learners, James and John from Jesus’ inner circle, suggesting they’d like higher places, being such good friends of Jesus. Matthew’s account tones it down, so it doesn’t sound so bad on behalf of these later respected leaders of Christian communities in the early Church. For Matthew, it’s their mother making the request on behalf of her boys, as mothers can do, that they get favoured places in the kingdom of which Jesus speaks, even though he has earlier made it clear enough that his way of discipleship is not a path to higher places, in terms of self-importance, wealth, power and privilege.
This is why today I’ve taken my dear friend Trish as a contemporary example of one who has faced up to the heavy crosses of her own life, counterbalancing these with the love of her family and friends, and living each day with a positive attitude, right to the end.
Jesus talks of drinking from the cup of suffering, as he faces up to his own future, foreseeing his passion and death as inevitable, given the hostility and even hatred directed at him, if only in the background, until the end. It’s all a bit theoretical to the apostles, who are somewhat selective in taking to heart what Jesus says.
The words kingdom and glory sound like a good idea, but suffering and crosses don’t have the same hopeful ring about them! When he asks if they can drink from the same cup, they assure him they can, but their actions on slinking into the dark in Gethsemane don’t match their earlier words of reassurance!
What comes through in the end is that the tough stuff is not something to be looked for, but the difficult moments and crosses to be faced up to, are a part of every life.
This week there was the feast day of an early saint, Ignatius of Antioch, who died around 107AD. To my thinking, he was not a great role model in the way he was almost over-enthusiastic about becoming a martyr for the Christian cause, as he wrote about his bones becoming crushed as ‘the white bread of Christ’, almost hoping the lions of the Colosseum, or whatever wild animals came out, would attack him and finish him off! We don’t have to go looking for pain and suffering, and we are not Christian masochists. It’s about facing up to the challenges of life in a spirit of service and self-sacrifice, which is why today I highlight our humble friend Trish Rocca, as one who demonstrated this spirit in her lived out faith and example shown, in so many practical ways.
Again, Brendan Byrne SJ says it well: “(Jesus) is surrendering his future entirely into the hands of the God in whose power and generosity he places complete trust. Those who wish to be his associates must accompany him in this trust as well… Those who have authority I the kingdoms of the earth use their power to turn everything to their advantage. On the contrary, those who aspire to leadership in the community of the Kingdom (of God, which Jesus proclaims) must think of themselves as the slaves of all – a complete reversal of values.”
And dear old Claude Mostowik MSC homes in on the main point of today’s Gospel: “Pope Francis follows Jesus in expressing the need for a culture of ‘greatness’ that emphasises self-giving, humility, service and small acts that contribute to the greater good. The creation of that culture begins… with each of us… Genuine leadership serves and stands alongside people where they can grow and become servants (too).”
We don’t have to go looking for the challenges and crosses of life that come our way! They are going to hit us anyway. But let’s remember, at the same time, life is to be enjoyed, happiness and love to be sought and found, where we can, and it’s so much more a wide and wonderful world, than a ‘veil (or) valley of tears’, where the crosses can just weigh us down and the darkness overwhelm us. We are called to be a people of life, love and joy as we live the good news of the Gospel of Jesus, reflecting his light and love in our own lives. So let’s get on with it!
john hannon 20th October 2024