Gospel Mk 9:30-37
Jesus and his disciples left from there and began a journey through Galilee, but he did not wish anyone to know about it.He was teaching his disciples and telling them, “The Son of Man is to be handed over to men and they will kill him,and three days after his death the Son of Man will rise.” But they did not understand the saying, and they were afraid to question him. They came to Capernaum and, once inside the house, he began to ask them, “What were you arguing about on the way?” But they remained silent. They had been discussing among themselves on the way who was the greatest. Then he sat down, called the Twelve, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.” Taking a child, he placed it in the their midst, and putting his arms around it, he said to them, “Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but the One who sent me.”
Homily
Babies are the most vulnerable in the animal kingdom, and yet they have a power which adults do not have. It is not physical or intellectual power, but it is power nonetheless and all of us who have the experience of babies, either because they are our own or because we have spent time observing them are aware of this. The acquisition of power on the other hand, leaves those who seek it extremely vulnerable and this vulnerability increases in the measure that power grows. We are not very aware of this however and so the temptation to seek power can overcome us very easily. All of us know persons who have fallen into this trap and for whom the acquisition of power is the be all and end all of their lives. When this happens, all sorts of injustices frequently follow.
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The story we know very well. We hear it every three years. Jesus’ disciples have been
been arguing among themselves “who was the greatest.” This was not an isolated incident; we remember the mother of James and John asking Jesus to give the places next to him to her children. They do not tell Jesus what they have been discussing when he asks them what they were arguing about; probably because of shame or embarrassment. Jesus has been telling them what awaited him; “The Son of Man is to be handed over to men and they will kill him,and three days after his death the Son of Man will rise.” But the disciples did not understand him. If they had understood him, they would not be arguing about who would be the greatest. Jesus has to teach them again and decides to do it using the example of a little child. “If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.” Taking a child, he placed it in the their midst, and putting his arms around it, he said to them, “Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but the One who sent me.” Jesus teaches them that in the community of the disciples power is not the important issue. The important characteristic of the disciple of Jesus is servanthood. When servanthood is the operating principle in a disciple’s life, then his/her attention is with the most vulnerable; “Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but the One who sent me.” Those whose operating principle is “power” pay far more attention to the important people of this world. In paying attention to the most vulnerable we pay attention to Jesus himself and in so doing we become like Jesus himself, God who made God’s self vulnerable for the sake of humanity. In this vulnerability lies true power. Here the example of the saints gives the truth to this assertion. Mother Teresa of Calcutta had no military or political power. She dedicated herself to the most vulnerable and yet could get governments all over the world to help her in her struggle for those living and dying on the streets. Mons Romero had no military might or political acumen and his struggle for the voiceless in El Salvador made him as vulnerable as they were and this vulnerability cost him his life, yet his struggle has inspired so many others to continue to be the voice of those who have no voice. Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela, each in accepting the vulnerability of their people brought about significant social changes in their countries.
As we thank God for these examples, we pray to avoid the trap of believing that power makes us great. Help us to understand that it is only in living the vulnerability of servanthood that we begin to resemble the Lord Jesus and achieve true greatness.
Prayer
All powerful and ever-loving God, we thank you for reminding us that he/she who aspires to greatness must first of all be the last and servant of all, especially the most vulnerable in our midst. Your Son Jesus lived like that and so they said of him that he had done all things well. He made the dumb speak and the deaf hear. May your disciples so live that it may be said of them also that they did all things well. We ask this through the same Jesus. Christ your son and Mary our Mother. Amen
