How disappointing that must have been for Jesus.
When Jesus told the disciples of His impending death and resurrection…. the most important thing they could think of was how important they would be.
You can’t make this stuff up.
It’s testimony that the truth has been revealed in the Gospel when even the embarrassing moments of the disciples’ journey with Jesus are included. I think if we were writing the Gospel we would be tempted to leave out that time Jesus was talking to us about His murder and resurrection and we were arguing about who would be greatest. Who would be first.
It sounds crazy as we read the text. Sometimes scriptures can be difficult for us to understand why this part or that part was included. But there is a reason – even for this view into an event that seems embarrassing.
Of course, understanding scripture and applying God’s Word requires more than just reading or even hearing the text. It is very much like the glasses I use to see better. I don’t have better eyesight by looking at my glasses but because I look through the lenses of my glasses. I don’t have a better life and understanding of life because I read scripture and Christ’s teachings, but because God allows me to see the world through the lens of faith and His Word. In this way the believer can see insights and understand God in ways he can’t do using only his limited experience, wisdom or reasoning.
And so as we hear the readings and Gospel today, the hope is, that it inspires us to look at our lives through the lens of Christ’s teachings and ask ourselves what we are focused on as we make our way in life?
Do we strive to surround ourselves with others who will serve us, who will place us and our needs first? Or do we listen to Jesus who says, if you want to be first then you must be last and servant of all.
So many people in our world have formed an idea of God, as a God who is bound and defined by their desires, their passions, their lifestyles instead of realizing that it is NOT God who should be formed in our image, but it is our lives, our passions, our lifestyles which should be formed in the image and life of Jesus Christ.
If today we find ourselves in silly arguments about money, possessions, or who is more important, who is smarter, who is older, who is younger, who is better, who is (fill in the blank), we are like the disciples and we are missing the most important message of our lives and we are not listening to Jesus at all.
Followers of Christ must let go of the fears and passions and ambitions of this world and promote peace and the well being of those seen as insignificant through serving them and making others needs as important as their own.
This is the message Jesus shares with us when He says we must receive children such as these in His name. For children were considered incomplete adults and insignificant in the world Jesus was born into.
D.K. Chesterton once said, “Children are innocent and love justice, while most adults are wicked and prefer mercy.” D’Anna, my daughter-in-law, who used to be a third grade teacher, concurs; she says 3rd graders are all about their fairness and justice to the extreme.
Today we should see Jesus as the one who loves justice and mercy. He didn’t criticize the disciples who argued about being great, He sat down with them as a teacher might and showed them that being first requires putting others ahead of our needs and wants. In essence, Jesus said a great leader is first a great servant.
And we have servant leaders all around us as examples.
Parents who work to provide a home and food for their children, parents who wash clothes and prepare meals, wash dishes, change diapers, drop off and pick up teenagers, and ensure the home is clean every day are servant leaders. If parenting isn’t servitude I don’t know what is. As a grandparent when I babysit my grandchildren I am very much reminded of the service a parent provides to their children.
And what about our priests, like Father David and Alberto and our Pastor Father James, who dedicate their very lives to being servant leaders for us, devoting their whole life so we can be taught and gently guided, as they help us on our way and spiritual journey to Jesus Christ.
Giving up one’s life for others is a sign of a servant leader isn’t it?
If we just looked at the service a parent or priest provides in the eyes of the world we could not possibly understand why anyone would do it.
Once a child is grown, after the pains, struggles and joys of childhood are inflicted on their parents, seldom does a parent see any personal payback?
And a priest serves watching parishioners come and go, altar servers enter the church, serve for a few years and head off to college. Priests are reassigned and relationships ebb and wane. Where is the payback?
But parents and priests, who see their service through the eyes of faith and through the lens of the Gospel, teach and serve out of love and gratitude -knowing that they are serving children of God, loved so much by Jesus that He died for them. That is why most parents and priests and all Christian servant leaders would never choose another path. They are not leaders because they seek greatness; they are great because they serve God by serving His children.
Do we find ourselves on our way; serving others with kindness and consideration? Do we support justice by ensuring those who are insignificant, who have few possessions, who are less fortunate, who need our help, receive it?
The good news today is Jesus came to live among us, to teach us, to die for us and be resurrected, so we might not only believe but imitate Him in our lives and choices we make, so we can put the needs of others first. If we are truly followers of Christ, the best we can do is to follow His path, His way. †
Deacon Tony Pynes 