Mark 12: 35-37
While Jesus was teaching in the temple, he said, “How can the scribes say that the Messiah is the son of David? David himself, by the Holy Spirit, declared,
‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at my right hand,
until I put your enemies under your feet.”’
David himself calls him Lord; so how can he be his son?” And the large crowd was listening to him with delight.
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
Presume Good Intention
In our Gospel reading today, there’s a bit of a disconnect between Jesus’ intentions and the crowd’s reaction. Jesus is correcting the scribes’ interpretation of Psalm 110, not to embarrass them, but to show his superiority to David as the true Messiah. All the crowd hears, though, is a good burn. They “delight” in the scribes’ humiliation.
This sentiment is not uncommon today. We enjoy it when our ideological opponents get “owned” or when some influencer records him/herself rattling off a stream of well-chosen (maybe even rehearsed) words against scarecrow arguments that confirm what we already believe. But what is our real priority in these moments: the truth or the self-satisfaction of being right? Do we seek first to understand those who disagree with us? Do we correct with compassion? Do we speak the truth gently and with charity? Are we humble enough to admit when we are wrong?
—Alex DeWitt, SJ, is a Jesuit scholastic of the Midwest Province finishing his theology studies at Regis College in Toronto.
Prayer
Let it be presupposed that every good Christian is to be more ready to save his neighbor’s proposition than to condemn it. If he cannot save it, let him inquire how he means it; and if he means it badly, let him correct him with charity. If that is not enough, let him seek all the suitable means to bring him to mean it well, and save himself.
—St. Ignatius, "Presupposition” to the Spiritual Exercises