Sunday between 18 and 24 September    

Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B)

First Reading - Jeremiah 11.18-20

A reading from the book of the prophet Jeremiah. Like a lamb, I was led to the slaughter. For I did not know that it was against me that they were devising their evil schemes, until the Lord made it known to me. They were saying, ‘Let us destroy both the tree and its fruit. Let us cut him off from the land of the living, so that even his name will be remembered no more!’ But you, O Lord of hosts - you are the one who judges righteously. You examine the heart and the mind. Let me see your judgement upon them, for I have committed my cause to you. This is the word of the Lord.

Second Reading - James 3.13 - 4.3,7b-8a,10

A reading from the letter of James. It is by a life filled with good deeds and with gentleness that you demonstrate true wisdom and understanding. Bitterness, envy, and selfish ambition, do not come from godly wisdom, but are earthly, unspiritual, even devilish, bringing disorder and wickedness of every kind. Godly wisdom is peaceful, gentle, and accommodating; full of mercy and good deeds, with no trace of partiality or hypocrisy. And what is planted in peace brings a harvest of righteousness.

Your conflicts and disputes come from unworthy desires that are at war within you. You want something you do not have, so you engage in disputes and conflicts that lead even to murder. But you do not have, because you do not ask! Or you ask wrongly, seeking only to fulfil your unworthy desires. So resist the devil, and the devil will flee from you. Draw near to God, and God will draw near to you. Be humble before God, and God will raise you up. This is the word of the Lord.

Gospel - Mark 9.30-37

Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Mark. Jesus and his disciples travelled on through Galilee. And Jesus did not want anyone to know that they were there; for he was teaching his disciples, saying, ‘The Son of Man will be betrayed, and they will kill him. And after three days, he will rise again.’ But they did not understand what he was saying, and they were afraid to ask him. At the end of the day’s journey, Jesus asked them what they had been arguing about, as they had been walking along. And they were silent, for they had been arguing about which of them was the greatest. Jesus sat down, and called the twelve to him, and said, ‘Whoever wants the highest place must take the lowest place of all, and be the servant of all.’ Then Jesus called a child to stand amongst them, and said to the disciples, ‘Whoever welcomes a child, in my name, welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.’ This is the Gospel of the Lord.