Monday of the Twenty-sixth Week in Ordinary Time
Like Children
Other Celebrations for this Day:
Liturgical Cycle: A | Lectionary Cycle: II
Introduction
Year II. Today we hear the beginning of the book of Job. Job is not historical but a reflection, mostly in poetic form, on the existence of evil, particularly as it comes upon good, innocent, and God-fearing people. For his answer, because he lacks the perspective of eternal life, the author cannot go beyond this: God is wise; we are too small to understand him. God knows. Leave everything to him. Be patient and trust him.
Gospel. Childlike, but not childish… We are God’s children, yet not infants. We have to grow up constantly to the maturity of Christ, to remake, with the help of the Spirit, our unity, the centre of ourselves.
Opening Prayer
Lord our God,
your Son Jesus Christ became a child of people.
He made children the privileged symbol
of the truly adult disciple.
May we have the openness and receptivity
of the child: humble, authentic,
and open to your love and to your gifts.
For only then will you fill our emptiness
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
First Reading
Second Scene: In Heaven
One day, the heavenly beings came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came with them.
The Lord asked Satan: “Where have you been?” Satan answered: “Going up and down the earth, roaming about.”
The Lord asked again: “Have you noticed my servant Job? No one on earth is as blameless and upright as he is—a man who fears God and avoids evil.”
But Satan returned the question: “Does Job fear God for nothing?
Have you not built a protective wall around him and his family and all his possessions? You have blessed and prospered him, with his livestock all over the land.
But stretch out your hand and strike where his riches are, and I bet he will curse you to your face.”
The Lord said to Satan: “Very well, all that he possesses is in your control. But do not lay a finger on the man himself.” So Satan departed from the Lord’s presence.
Third Scene: On Earth
One day, while his sons and daughters were celebrating at their eldest brother’s house,
a messenger came to Job and said: “Your oxen were plowing, and your donkeys were grazing nearby
when the Sabaeans came and took them away. They killed the herders. I am the only one who escaped to tell you.”
While he was still speaking, another messenger came: “God’s fire fell from the sky and burned all your sheep and the shepherds as well. I alone have escaped to tell you.”
He had hardly finished speaking when another messenger arrived: “Three raiding teams of Chaldeans have killed your servants and carried off your camels. I alone have escaped to tell you.”
He was still speaking when another messenger came and said to Job: “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking in the house of their eldest brother,
when suddenly, a strong wind swept across the desert and hit the house. It collapsed on the young people, and they all died. I alone have escaped to tell you.”
In grief, Job tore his clothes and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground and worshiped,
saying: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, naked shall I return. The Lord gave, the Lord has taken away. Blessed be his name!”
Despite this calamity, Job did not sin by blaspheming God.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (6) Incline your ear to me and hear my word.
Hear, O LORD, a just suit;
attend to my outcry;
hearken to my prayer from lips without deceit.
R. Incline your ear to me and hear my word.
From you let my judgment come;
your eyes behold what is right.
Though you test my heart, searching it in the night,
though you try me with fire, you shall find no malice in me.
R. Incline your ear to me and hear my word.
I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God;
incline your ear to me; hear my word.
Show your wondrous mercies,
O savior of those who flee
from their foes to refuge at your right hand.
R. Incline your ear to me and hear my word.
Alleluia Verse
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Son of Man came to serve
and to give his life as a ransom for many.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
One day, the disciples were arguing about which of them was the most important.
Then he said to them:
“Whoever welcomes this little child in my name, welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me, welcomes the one who sent me. And listen: the one who is found to be the least among you all is the one who is the greatest.”
Then John spoke up:
“Master, we saw someone who drives out demons by calling upon your name, and we tried to forbid him because he doesn’t follow you with us.”
But Jesus said:
“Don’t forbid him. He who is not against you is for you.”
Prayers of the Faithful
– For those who are the greatest in the Church, that they may serve with great dedication and without looking down on the weakest, the poorest, those wounded in life, we pray:
– For the mighty of this earth, that they may care about the rights, the dignity and the well-being of especially the lowliest under their charge, we pray:
– For those who work in lowly jobs shunned by others, for those who have unhealthy and dangerous tasks, for those who care for the old and the handicapped, that we may appreciate them and that the Lord may reward them, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord God, we come before you
with our human wisdom:
self-assured, sophisticated, and world-wise.
Make us see, Lord,
that we have to accept your wisdom,
the wisdom of trust and simplicity,
the wisdom that is hard to fully accept,
the wisdom of Jesus crucified.
Only then are we ready to accept
a God who became man and dwells among us,
Jesus Christ, our Saviour and our Lord.
Prayer after Communion
Our God and Father,
we are your sons and daughters, your children,
and you are our Father.
May we all grow up
to the full maturity of Jesus Christ,
for this is your wish, Father,
that we retain the openness to you of the child,
yet that we reach the full adulthood
of Jesus Christ, God like you,
yet your loyal Son and fully human.
He is our Saviour forever.
Blessing
“Whoever welcomes a child in my name welcomes me, says Jesus. Let us love children and learn from them; forget the ridiculous competition to be the greatest. May almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
REFLECTIONS
Luke 9: 46-50
Greatness Without Rivalry
Luke joins two incidents that expose the disciples’ misunderstanding of greatness and belonging. First, they argue about which of them is greatest. Then John reports that they stopped a man from casting out demons in Jesus’ name because “he does not follow with us.” In both moments, the disciples treat God’s kingdom as something that gives them rank and privilege.
William Barclay explains that their rivalry followed from imagining Jesus establishing an earthly kingdom. They expected honour. Jesus overturns this ambition by placing a child in the place of honour. In the ancient world, a child possessed no standing or importance.
The point goes deeper. True greatness consists in serving people whom the world considers unimportant. Barclay warns that service can be corrupted by the desire for prestige, position, or prominence. A Church office is not an honour awarded to elevate someone; it is a responsibility that sets someone apart for service.
John does not accuse the exorcist of producing evil results. His complaint is simply that the man does not belong to their group. Good accomplished in Christ’s name must be welcomed, even when it occurs outside our circle.
Barclay calls tolerance a neglected virtue. Christian tolerance arises from love and from humility enough to admit that we may be mistaken. No disciple, ministry, denomination, or community possesses a monopoly on God’s action.
Together, these episodes redefine discipleship. We should examine our ambition and exclusiveness. Do we serve quietly when no recognition follows? Can we rejoice when another person or group accomplishes good without our permission?