There have been unusually heavy rains in various parts of the world recently.  The large amounts of rainfall have caused devastating landslides in some populated areas.  If you’ve seen any of the news reports about these events, you’ve probably experienced a sinking feeling much like the sinking earth in those news stories.  If you’re like me, you’ve wished that something could be done to prevent the disasters or, at least, help the victims of disasters. 

I don’t want to minimize the tragedy of those natural disasters, but every time I see news reports about them, I am reminded of a very different sort of disaster.  Most people have met someone whose life is reminiscent of those tragic landslides.  You’re probably familiar with the sort of person I’m speaking about, that is, the sort of person who has never met a bad idea that they didn’t love. 

If you’ve met someone whose life might qualify as a natural disaster, you might have wanted to do something to help, but only found yourself sliding down a metaphorical hillside in tandem with the tragedy of that person who demonstrates so little wisdom.  Today’s second reading addresses situations such as this. 

The Letter of James consists of a series of moral instructions addressed to a church community which was struggling to practice the Faith they claimed to believe.  Today’s second reading is the transition from an instruction about the nature of true wisdom to an instruction about the obligation to avoid envy.   

The transition between those two instructions is based on the message communicated in some of Jesus’ agrarian parables.  James wrote, “the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace for those who cultivate peace.” (Jas 3:18)  In the letter to Galatians, Paul stated the same idea in slightly different words.  Paul wrote, “one reaps what one sows.” (Gal 6:7) 

The obvious but often ignored truth about human existence is that some of the worst of one’s personal disasters are of one’s own making.  In today’s Gospel reading, for example, the disciples embarrassed themselves by ignoring Jesus’ instruction about his impending death; instead of attending to his teaching about the humility required to love God, they argued about who was the greatest among them. (Mk 9:34)  The disciples sowed seeds of egotism and reaped a harvest of hypocrisy. 

The disciples were falling slowly down a slippery slope, not literally, but metaphorically; they were filled up with their own self-importance and consequently, they were deaf to Jesus’ teaching about faith.  The event in today’s Gospel reading must have been distressing to Jesus.  He cared truly about his disciples, but they didn’t care enough about themselves to give even a little attention to Divine wisdom. 

Eventually, Jesus was able to bring the disciples out of their spiral of self-imposed disaster, but it was only by means of his death and resurrection.  Witnessing his extreme selflessness roused them from their spiritual torpor and brought them to true faith in God. 

When I encounter someone whose life reminds me of the agony of watching the slow-motion destruction caused by a mudslide in a populated area, I wonder if there is something I could do to change the tragic but inevitable outcome of self-destructive choices.  The only possible remedy is, I think, to imitate Jesus by carrying one’s cross faithfully. 

The Letter of James says that those who sow seeds of righteousness, that is, love for God, will reap the harvest of peace, that is, love for people.  The peace that is the fruit of righteousness is not a private experience but a social one.  Forming a just and holy life for oneself, then, has the effect of bringing God’s peace to the whole world. 

Watching someone make self-destructive choices or engage in self-defeating behavior is an agonizing experience that makes one want to do something to help.  Unfortunately, no one can make choices for another person.  The great temptation to intervene in the lives of others rests only on fantasy and will never bear good fruit.  The good fruit of righteousness and peace come not from the choices one makes about another person’s life but rather from the choices one makes about one’s own life. 

The Letter of James instructs all the baptized to practice righteousness in every situation and thereby bring both God’s wisdom and God’s peace to those who lack them.  Perhaps, this is the reason that so many self-destructive people continue their slow slide toward disaster: there are so few who are willing to sow the seeds of justice and righteousness for the sake of the world.