The Word God Spells

Mark 9: 30-37
Sir 2:1-11 / Ps 37

Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.
(Mark 9:35)

Blessed are the small and the meek,
Unlike the proud, God hears their call.
Those who serve the poor and the weak
Are for Christ the greatest of all!

Passing through Galilee, Jesus did not want anyone to see them for He now had so little time to teach His disciples. They could not understand it when He told them, ‘The Son of Man is to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and three days after being killed, he will rise again.’ And yet they were afraid to ask Him. Instead, they argued with one another who was the greatest. When they reached Capernaum, Jesus asked them, ‘What were you arguing about on the way?’ But they were silent. He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, ‘Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.’ Then, taking a little child in His arms, He said to them, ‘Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.’

Reflection

Peter, James and John had much to tell the other apostles about their experience in Mt. Hebron, seeing Elijah and Moses and actually hearing the voice of the Almighty. Greatness was the topic of the day, which the other nine apostles felt they forfeited when they failed to exorcise the dumb spirit earlier in the day. Thus they could not grasp what Jesus was telling them about being betrayed, killed, and rising again on the third day. It was as if their Master was singing a totally different tune.

Jesus was telling His apostles (and us) that in the eyes of God, the greatest is the one who is willing to be the servant of all. And greatness is reserved for those who do not care about their position in the world, but are concerned only about the welfare of others. Greatness is a form of heroism that we have witnessed in times of tragedies and crises. The response from many of our people and neighboring Asian countries to the environmental tragedy in the Bicol region in the wake of typhoon Reming bears witness to the greatness in the hearts of many who were willing to help alleviate the misery of the affected populace by sending food, relief goods and money. Just as great a heart was Fr. Paul, who adopted an abandoned malnourished baby which was literally skin and bones, and gave her to his parents to raise as their own. All of these heroes will be greatly rewarded, for as our Lord said, “Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did it for me” (Mt.25:40).

May we all do our share in serving the poor, the sick, the weak and the hungry children in our midst in order to be great in the eyes of God.

Remind me Lord Jesus, whenever the little ones come to me in times of need, that it is You Who is coming to me to give me the opportunity for true greatness. Amen.