THE FRUIT OF KNOWLEDGE

Reflection for Tuesday of the 7th Week in Ordinary Time, Year A.
(Sirach 2:1-11, Ps 37, Mk 9:30-37)

“What were you discussing on the way”, Jesus asked His disciples as they entered the house. A sudden silence echoed in the room. Shame almost caught up with them since their discussion was off track. While Jesus was explaining to them His coming passion and resurrection, their hearts could not relate to such humiliation. “They did not understand the saying, and they were afraid to ask Him.” Thus, they turned their attention to what they know, which, unfortunately, was the very opposite of what Jesus presented. “For on the way they had discussed with one another who was the greatest.”

Man had eaten the fruit of knowledge (Gen 3:11); our eyes are wide open. Self-awareness and self-emancipation is the order of the day. We hear people echoing the words of Adam after the fall; I was naked (Gen 3:10), I am…this…I am that…In the face of this, it becomes difficult for man to offload himself into the arms of God, who wants to take absolute control and direct our lives like His little children. We have eaten the fruit of knowledge, and our personhood is gloried in our eyes. The man of knowledge will often not understand why he should willingly submit himself to the humiliation of others! Hence, the disciples could not make sense of what Jesus was saying about willingly accepting suffering and death. This knowledge that knows not humility has caused a lot of harm in our families and society. It breeds selfishness and unhealthy competition.

Nevertheless, on the Cross Jesus becomes for us the real fruit of knowledge, where we pluck from and eat the fruit of eternal life. No more shall our eyes be opened to ourselves alone and to evil. The message of the Cross is power and salvation (cf. 1 Cor 1:17-31). So Jesus sat down and said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.”

Following Jesus implies tracing the path of knowledge He laid for us. That is why the first reading instructs us to consciously set our hearts on God and follow Him with patience. “For gold and silver are tested in the fire, and acceptable men in the furnace of humiliation.” We must shift our gaze from ourselves and transfer it to the person of Jesus as He instructs us each day and along the way. And as we gaze upon Him who was pierced (Jn 19:37), we reap from Him the fruit of the resurrection.

Fr Chinwenwa Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R
All Saints Catholic Church,
Agip Estate, Port Harcourt.
21/02/2017