Mark 8:34-9:1

Friday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time

Genesis 11:1-9

Psalm 33:10-11, 12-13, 14-15

Mark 8:34-9:1

Jesus summoned the crowd with his disciples and said to them,

“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,

take up his cross, and follow me.

For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,

but whoever loses his life for my sake

and that of the Gospel will save it.

What profit is there for one to gain the whole world

and forfeit his life?

What could one give in exchange for his life?

Whoever is ashamed of me and of my words

in this faithless and sinful generation,

the Son of Man will be ashamed of

when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels.”

He also said to them,

“Amen, I say to you,

there are some standing here who will not taste death

until they see that the Kingdom of God has come in power.”

Opening Prayer: Lord God, guide me along the path of self-denial and true humility. Help me understand how I am tempted, where I am weak, and how I can be victorious in the battle.

Encountering the Word of God

1. Follow Me: In the Gospel, Jesus is about to begin his final journey to Jerusalem. He needs to impart his final teachings about true discipleship before he undergoes his passion and death. The first lesson concerns the paradoxical need to sacrifice one’s life to gain life, to lose life to save it. Jesus’ disciples need to reject the temptation to gain this world to gain eternal life. The world offers pleasure, possessions, earthly, prestige, power, and influence. “Jesus warns that disciples must be so committed to him that they are willing to endure persecution, hardship, and even death. The faithful, he assures them, will find resurrection and glory beyond the hardships of this life” (Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: Old and New Testament, 1803). One day, at the end of time, Jesus will return in glory to judge the living and the dead. Those who saved their worldly life will lose it. Those who denied themselves, took up their cross, and followed Jesus, will be welcomed into eternal life.

2. The Kingdom of God: Jesus began his public ministry by announcing that the kingdom of God was at hand. He taught that the word of the Kingdom of God will be sown like seed, start very small, and grow mysteriously to welcome all nations (Mark 4:1-34). In today’s Gospel, “Jesus promises to inaugurate his kingdom within the lifetime of the apostles (Mark 1:15). This begins with Christ’s heavenly enthronement (Mark 16:19) and the birth of the Church. Its authority is manifest with the termination of the Old Covenant, when Jerusalem and the Temple are destroyed with fire (Luke 21:31-32). The kingdom, while present in mystery in the Church, will be fully manifest at the consummation of history” (Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: Old and New Testament, 1803). Thus, the Kingdom of God will come when Jesus suffers and dies in A.D. 30, when Jerusalem is destroyed in A.D. 70, and, at the end of time, when Jesus comes in glory. 

3. The Sin of Babel: After the renewal of the covenant of creation with Noah and his family, Genesis tells how sin again proliferated. “After the flood, Noah settles down and builds a vineyard. He takes the fruit of the vine, gets drunk, and ends up naked in his tent, a scene echoing Adam’s eating of the forbidden fruit and recognizing his nakedness” (Cavins and Gray, Walking with God, 27). Noah’s evil son, Ham, exploits his father’s drunkenness, while his righteous sons do not. Just as a righteous line descended from Adam’s son, Seth, and a sinful line from Adam’s firstborn son, Cain, so also a righteous line descends from Noah’s son, Shem, and a sinful line from Ham’s son, Canaan. The people of Babel were descendants of Nimrod, who was from the line of Ham. Instead of calling upon the name of the Lord, the people of Babel proposed to build a tower to the heavens to make a name for themselves. Thus, like Adam and Eve, who were tempted to be like gods and determine for themselves what is good and evil, the people of Babel were tempted by pride to be like gods and ascend to the heavens in their own way and by the work of their hands. God intervened and judged Babel, whose sin and rebellion resulted in division and exile. “The fresh start made with Noah has once again gone astray. But the genealogy of Shem, which follows the confusion of Babel, points to another new beginning. While much of the world rebelled, one family line was faithful: Shem’s line, the line that will result in Abram (Genesis 11:27). God will call Abram (later Abraham) and his descendants to undo the mess made by Adam, Noah, and much of their families. The question is whether Abram will be faithful” (Cavins and Gray, Walking with God, 32).

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, help me to follow you and bear my cross. I offer my life to you as your disciple. I embrace the mission to extend your Kingdom in the world and bring all men and women to share in your divine life.

Living the Word of God: What does my daily cross look like? Is there a relationship that needs work? Are there sinful tendencies that I struggle to overcome? Am I striving daily for righteousness, empowered by God’s grace?