Gospel Mark 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
Last week the Readings of the Mass reminded us of the need for disciples of Jesus to be disciples not simply in words but rather in deeds, deeds which reflect the values of Jesus. We saw that this involved the daily taking up of the cross which comes from living the values which Jesus espoused. The Gospel reading for this weekend continues this theme.
Jesus is insisting with his disciples on the image which he and they must project to the world. It is not an image of power. It is the image of the suffering servant, proposed by the prophet Isaiah, 53 3 – 5. He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that made us whole, and with his stripes we are healed.
Unfortunately the disciples do not understand the implications for their own lives. The disciples continue to jostle for positions in the new movement, who will be first etc. Jesus again has to insist with them. This movement is not about power. It is about servant-hood, servant-hood for the kingdom, in which greatness is measured not by using the criteria for greatness which the world uses, but by service to the smallest and the least in our midst. Jesus therefore tells them, “If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.” And then taking a child, and placing 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.” Children we must remember symbolize the most powerless amongst us. Greatness therefore among the disciples is seen in true and active service to the most powerless in the society.
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This is a concept which is still difficult for us to understand and accept. All of us call ourselves disciples of Jesus. All of us would say that we follow the teachings of our Lord not totally faithful all the time but making an effort to do so. Yet this teaching is so hard to follow. We see persons in authority trapped by the allurement of “Power, pomp, status and flashing lights.” When that happens, servant-hood, the mark of the disciples of Jesus is no longer lived.
Yet servant-hood for the Kingdom is lived by many persons throughout the world. This was the life of mother Teresa of Calcutta. She was literally the servant, i.e. totally available to and for those living and dying on the streets of Calcutta and of the world. This is what Fr Gerry Pantin did here in Trinidad and Tobago with Servol. This is what the late Archbishop Pantin did during his tenure as Archbishop of Port of Spain. These three, in their different styles and ways were always available, i.e. were servants of the smallest and abandoned of their societies. Their lives tell us that they understood and accepted the injunction of Jesus, “If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.” and “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.”
It is to this understanding that all of us, You and I are called. At the end of it all, this is what it means to be Called and Catholic. May we all come to this understanding so as to be faithful disciples of Jesus.
Prayer
All powerful and ever-loving God, your son Jesus taught us by the example of his life, the meaning of Christian discipleship yet it is so hard for us to understand. Help us to learn from the lives of the saints, our heroes in the faith that it is possible to live a life of true servant-hood or availability for the sake of the Kingdom. Remove from our hearts and our lives all attachment to “power, pomp, status and flashing lights.” This attachment stifles our ability to be available for the Kingdom. Help us to recognize you in the least in our midst. Help us to love you in them. We ask this through the intercession of Mary, our Mother and your son Jesus. Amen.
