Sermon Notes for
Homilists and Religion Teachers. Embargo: Catholics are welcome to read after
Noon, Sunday
24 Sunday (B) September 17, 2003
Hinge A door has a hinge to attach it to the
house. Today’s gospel, Mark 8: 27-35 is
the hinge that attaches the first part of his gospel to the second part. The theme of the first seven chapters has
been to introduce us to Jesus, the Messiah.
Jesus is the one who comes to save us.
We see Jesus healing the sick, preaching good news, gathering a group of
followers. After considering all the
evidence, inspired by the Holy Spirit, Peter is suddenly totally convinced that
Jesus is the promised
Messiah.
Now in this same passage Mark introduces the theme
of the second half of his gospel:
Jesus-the Son of Man.
Jesus is that person whose
glory is hidden and who lived a life of people just like us. And because he is like us, he can suffer and
die.
(It will not be until the
fifteenth chapter that Mark will reveal that Jesus is the Son of God. Mark records that it was the centurion, a
Roman soldier, who announces the identity of the dead person on the cross:
“Clearly this man was the Son of God.”)
In Chapters 8-15, Mark shows
Jesus preparing the apostles and Mark’s little Christian community in Rome for
suffering. In chapters 8-15, Jesus shows by word and example how to walk the
road of suffering—the road that will end in Jerusalem
Analysis At first sight, it seemed to
me that the Kowloontsai on-lookers were cruel to laugh. Certainly there were
insensitive. But these people were very poor.
They had recently fled China. They had left everything behind. They had
seen much suffering in their lives. These adults had experienced the death of
loved ones. Perhaps these adults were
laughing because the death of this puppy dog was so insignificant compared to
the human suffering they had witnessed.
Undoubtedly, this lad would probably endure much more grievous
sufferings in his life. One day he
would look back and see how silly it was to weep for a dead puppy. This little
tragedy was simply a preparation for the suffering that this boy would
inevitably meet in being human.
Teaching Suffering We
try to shield our children from suffering. Yet we know that in every life some rain will fall. Today Jesus and St. Mark remind Catholic
parents and grandparents of St. Patrick’s community to prepare the young for
suffering and bitter disappointments. We read in our daily newspapers of the
suffering inflicted upon even the very youngest of children in Hong Kong and
Asia.
From time to time, even very
young children may questions about suffering: “Why did my dog die? If God is a
loving parent, why didn’t he stop the driver? Does life give more than it
takes? Is it better that I was never born? If life gets too difficult, why not
commit suicide?”[1]
How as parents and educators
do we treat such questions? Do we adults treat the young people’s questions
with the respect that they deserve.? Will
Jesus, the Son of Man, and St. Mark help us?
Book of Answers Today’s gospel, Holy
Scripture, especially the Psalms, and above all the words, the life, the death
and the Resurrection of Jesus help to form our attitude toward suffering and
provide our young people with the resources to prepare for life’s journey.
Parents, grandparents and teachers when is the last time that you spoke with your children of suffering? How did you help a child or a teenager meet disappointments, anxiety and physical pain? Did you frankly share with them your own experiences of suffering? Or did you say: “You will get over it. It’s only a dog!” I hope you wouldn’t laugh.
Homiletic Notes
24 Sunday (B) Mark 8:27-35 Sept. 7, 03
ONE WORD: SUFFERING
THEME: Christian educators and parents have the task of preparing our Hong Kong children for the inevitable sufferings that accompany every human life.
TEXT: “And he began to teach them that the Son of Man was destined to suffer grievously…”
CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH: #164 “Our experiences of evil and
suffering, injustice, and death seem to contradict the Good News; they can
shake our faith and become a temptation against it.” Catechism of the Catholic Church, (Mission Hills: Benziger
Publishing Co, 1994), #164 p. 45.
ILLUSTRATION: The laughing onlookers saw the death
of the dog as a very trivial event compared to the sufferings that they had
experienced. This little tragedy was an
amusing baby step in the preparation for life.
DOCTRINE: A Christian believes that there is
meaning in suffering.
…………………………………………………………………………
CHEWING
THE WORD OF GOD
24 Sunday (B) Mark 8:27-35 September 7, 2003
(A sermon that is not chewed and digested is a waste of everyone’s
time.)
1.
The
first 8 chapters introduce us to Jesus the M_______.
2.
The
theme of the final 7 chapters introduce us to Jesus as the S___ of M___.
3.
The
S___ of M____’s glory is veiled; he lives an existence like u__.
4.
Like ____, Jesus could s_____ grievously.
5.
(Optional) Relate an incident in which you as
a child suffered pain. How did or did
not an adult help you?
………………………………………………………………….
[1] A recent Hong Kong survey said that 17 percent of the children interviewed considered suicide. Three percent of these actually tried!