September 23

The Oscars. The Super Bowl. TV talent shows. Your son's Little
League championship. We live in a culture set on competition.
The desire to "be the best" goes beyond hobbies and into
politics, the corporate world, and parenting comparisons at
the park. This desire is as old as the human race, and it surely
arose in Jesus' day. While Biblical society was significantly
less open and upwardly mobile than our own, power was
attractive. From what we know, many of Jesus' disciples had
come from lowly backgrounds. Now they followed an increasingly
popular rabbi who seemed primed to do something big.
Jesus does his best to dissuade their high hopes by prophesying
his own defeat. "The Son of Man is to be handed over and
they will kill him." Internalizing the message proves challenging
for the disciples, and their attention remains fixed on
earthly glory. "They [discuss] among themselves, on the way,
who was the greatest." True to style, Jesus flips their pretensions
on their heads. "'If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be
the last of all and the servant of all.'"
We have heard these Biblical principles before. Do we believe
them? In our professional lives, do we do whatever we can to
get ahead, or are we concerned with the entire team succeeding?
In the lives of our children, are we more concerned with
victory or with building character? Jesus doesn't condemn
success, but he reframes it. "'Whoever receives one child such
as this in my name, receives me.'" Today's Gospel is a reality
check. In God's eyes, our success will not be measured by
worldly output alone but by how much love and service we
offer to others in the process.
©Liturgical Publications Inc.