25 C 25 Taking part 21 September 2025
When I was at school they would say to sporting teams, it is not whether you win or lose but whether you take part.
I don’t think anyone believed that very strongly. But it did make a valid point.
To do something well for its own sake regardless of other results, must have a place in human wisdom. Better to finish second in a strong field than to win in a weak field.
We might understand that God values our ‘taking part’ more than the result of what we do.
Mother Teresa said once that the important thing is not whether we have succeeded in life, but whether we have loved.
God would agree. He can make things happen at will; He does not need our input. But He wants that input from us so we can give Him something.
God could make a road, build a bridge, rain down food from heaven, much better than we could do it, but if we do those things with a desire to please Him, that is what He wants from us.
The second reading: I want the men to lift their hands up reverently in prayer, with no anger or argument. It is not so much the achievements of the governing body but whether or not they responded to prayer.
We pray that they do respond, and this is the Kingdom of Heaven coming into operation.
What does a government have to do but keep good order, enabling God's will to come into operation?
Many earthly governments forget that they are answerable to a higher authority and so they try to ‘win’ rather than ‘take part’. They have forgotten the God who made them, who has made the whole of reality.
God says that He does not require any more bullocks or sacrifices. He owns all the bullocks anyway! (Ps 50,11)
What He wants from us is our sincere worship, to express our humble dependence upon Him, and let whatever society emerges from that.
We do our best, but always submitting to God's greatness over us.
We give everything to God in trust that He will know what to do.
Or as Jesus said to Peter : do you love Me? (Jn 21,15) After all the miracles, all the sermons, all the healings the question that remained : do you love Me? This is what God wants from us.
We may be talented, or clever, but do we love God? Again it comes back to a very simple matter.
We are like children before God.
Sometimes people expect God to intervene and make everything go right. He does not have to do that. Things are already going right if people are seeking to please God.
The universe has a direction after all. It is not a random meaningless process, but watched over by God at all times, intervening to teach us what matters most to Him.
This understanding should help us handle all the different parts of our lives . such as the pursuit of money alluded to in the other readings.
We don’t need so much money if we have trust in God.
God would have us use all our resources for the collective good of all, so that everyone has enough to eat, and other necessities.
Again the simplicity is evident. If we seek to pile up so much money that we do not need God, then we come to grief like the rich man who built bigger barns (Lk 12,16-21)
So that we may be able to live religious and reverent lives in peace and quiet (Second reading, 1 Tim 2,2)
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