Repetition

Our Liturgical Year marches on.

Beginning with Advent and continuing for 52 weeks or so.

We re-experience the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.

We revisit his revelations and his teachings.

And their Scriptural background.

Yesterday, we resumed counting off the weeks of Ordinary Time.

That is, the weeks we number in their order of arrival.

Outside the seasons of Advent, Christmas, Lent and Easter.

We’ve just ended 12 weeks of the Lenten and Easter Seasons.

The different seasons have their own specific themes and stories.

But throughout all the seasons and all the blocks of ordinary time,

Our Scripture repeats the same underlying, fundamental messages.

All rooted in those two most basic commands—love God and neighbor.

We have repetition throughout the year.

And repetition from one year to the next.

For a lifetime.

Mother Church is like Mom at home when we were kids.

If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a thousand times!

We evidently need that repetition.

We’ve heard the message, but we still haven’t fully absorbed it.

We haven’t reached our capacity for understanding.

We haven’t reached our capacity for action.

Today’s Gospel passage provides a good example of the repetition.

Jesus tells of his coming death and resurrection.

The Son of Man will be handed over and killed, and will rise.

Of course that’s a main theme of the Lenten and Easter seasons.

But there are repeated references in the Advent and Christmas seasons.

And in other blocks of Ordinary Time.

Presented with different emphasis and levels of detail and intensity.

But always calling our attention to that fundamental truth.

Always giving us an opportunity to contemplate the full meaning.

And respond to it.

Today’s Gospel also warns against our temptation to pride.

Jesus corrected the apostles for arguing over Who’s the greatest?

It also addresses our call to service.

Be ... the servant of all.

And our call to especially embrace the poor and the powerless.

He placed a child in their midst and put his arms around it.

These fundamental messages are repeated in all seasons and times.

Repetition is the mother of learning.

May that repetition move us to continually deepening levels.

Of understanding, gratitude, commitment, and action.

Tuesday 7th Week Ordinary Time

Mk 9:30-37   Read this Scripture @usccb.org