Proper 20 Year B

Proper 20

Proverbs 31.10-31
James 3.13-4.3, 7-8a
Mark 9.30-37


Fortunately, Jesus stopped the disciples in their tracks before they acted out James 4 as well as James 3. Envy and selfish ambition, yes; but covetousness had not yet led to murder. The internecine strife in Jerusalem 40 years later (just after James was writing?) shows how easily it could have happened. Do, please, read the missing verses from James (4.4–6, 8b–10), and allow them to colour your hearing of the gospel. Who is God’s friend, and who God’s enemy, and where is this drama worked out today?...

Taken from Twelve Months of Sundays Year B by N T Wright