Is your life ordered? Are the lives of your family and friends ordered? Does nature seemed ordered to you? You may very well answer no. If your life is anything like mine – it is busy, I’m often tired, and unexpected things happen. Then I look around me and I see that some people have these components magnified – they have more stress and less time. When I look at the world – at nature – I recall several catastrophic storms claimed lives and homes. All this seems very disordered. Yet God created our world in order. He created light, water, animals and finally human beings in a very beautiful and ordered way. What happened? Well, as you know, sin entered the picture. Sin brought disorder into the world, into our hearts and relationships. All this seems rather depressing, right? But it’s not the end! Life in Christ gives us the ability to have order in our lives, hearts, minds and souls once again.
The second reading talks about how “jealousy” and “selfish ambition” are “disordered.” James is encouraging his fellow Christians that the “conflicts” between the community and the “conflicts” within each person are rooted in being disconnected from God. When we are connected to God, however, we experience and share “peace” with others. Our lives bear “good fruits.”
In the Gospel, we find the disciples experiencing conflict … over who is the “greatest” disciple. They are not concerned about their prayer lives, their knowledge of God, their service – but who looks best next to Jesus! This is disordered. They aren’t cultivating peace. Rather, they are encouraging jealousy, pride and comparison. Jesus sets things straight. He shows the disciples, and us, how to have an ordered life. He shows us what is important: “”If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.” It’s not about who seems “greatest” but who serves, who loves, who cares for others. This is a radical shift from myself at the center of my universe to others at the center of our universe. Christ tells us that when we do this – we receive him in each act of kindness and service. This affects how we order our lives because now – Christ comes first, others come second and I come last. This doesn’t mean I don’t take care of myself, that’s still important! I can’t give what I don’t have. But, if that is in place, I am called to concern myself with “cultivating peace” as Saint James says in the second reading. Today, think of two or three ways you can put your life in right order. How can you spread God’s peace to those in your life?
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