Last Sunday, we heard Jesus tell us that if we are to truly
follow him and be his disciples, we must deny ourselves and take up our
cross. He called us to lose our life for
his sake and the sake of the Gospel in order to save it. Today's Gospel message is just as challenging
& radical.
Jesus continues to teach his disciples about God's kingdom
as he proclaims a radical new order to the world. He describes how his mission to transform the
world will involve his death, but that he will rise again. Jesus doesn't want personal acclaim or
adulation – he asks to be our servant leader. The disciples don't understand
what he is telling them, but they're afraid to question him. Yet, in the midst of talk about Jesus' coming
betrayal & death, the disciples argue amongst themselves who is the
greatest. Imagine that! The disciples
don't see themselves as serving others - they instead seek personal power at
the expense of their fellow companions. Don’t
we see many in our society like that as well?
Some of those we see in sports, politics, or the business world want
fame and power all to themselves, working for their own personal good and not
the good of their team, their society, or their company.
As he tends to be, Jesus is patient with his disciples when
they don't understand. He lifts up a
child as an example to them. In ancient
Israel, a child was the lowest and most vulnerable member of society - with no legal rights, no power, no
protection. Jesus says that by welcoming a child, we welcome Jesus
himself. This child Jesus lifts up
symbolically represents any person of humble stature in our society. So many of
us want power, glory, and honor for ourselves, yet Christ is calling us to
reach out to the powerless and to those who can't speak for themselves: to the dispossessed,
the poor, and the oppressed. As we listen to today's Gospel, I bet most of us
can think of those we as individuals or as a society do not welcome as we
should.
The letter of James helps us to reflect upon how we think
about ourselves and how we treat others.
James asks: “From where do jealousies and conflicts among you
arise?” James sees them coming from our
passion, selfishness, and ambition. This
contrasts with the wisdom we can learn from God, wisdom which comes from above,
wisdom which is pure, merciful, and consistent. Although we are made in the
image of God, that image becomes unclear from the affects of sin in our lives,
from the bad choices we make, from the affects of bad examples, from some of
the difficult experiences we’ve had in our lives. James challenges us to reflect upon our
ability to put ourselves aside in order to be servants.
As I thought about
today’s Gospel message, I thought about the importance of humility as a virtue in our lives of faith, a virtue that
helps us discover the truth and goodness of God in our lived reality. Humility can be a great challenge, for
how do we know when we are truly being humble?
Where do we draw the line between taking care of ourselves and taking
care of others?
John of the Cross, the great 16th century Spanish
mystic, once said: “To be taken with
love for a soul, God does not look on its greatness, but on the greatness of
its humility.” We are called to humility
by God, but in a healthy, integrated way.
Yes, it is good for us to be recognized and appreciated in life, but
spiritually, we should not desire this recognition and praise as part of our identity
and being, but see ourselves in service for Christ, to see our works and
recognition as praising him and as ways in which we live out our faith. Yes, it is indeed hurtful and painful when we
are insulted and put down by others.
Yet, in our hurts, pains, and sufferings, we’re called to trust in
Jesus, to trust in our journey of faith, to not be afraid of what we face on
that journey. In competing and
achieving, we are not to do so in order to satisfy our pride and our egos, but
in accomplishing our goals in life and in doing our best, we’re also called to
notice the needs of others, to live with compassion, mercy, and living-giving
hope. We are not to degrade ourselves or
to lack self-confidence and self-respect, but we are also not to lose our sense
of charity and solidarity.
Coupled with humility, the other virtue
I see as a fruit of today’s Gospel is joy.
The spiritual joy that Christ calls us to is not felt in the
accumulation of power, might, and influence.
Rather, the joy we will feel as followers in Christ goes beyond any earthly-based
happiness or pleasure that is disconnected from our faith. While his disciples were worried about the
fleeting values of this world, such as who would be considered the greatest
from a very worldly point of view, Jesus’ deepest desire was for us as his
followers to feel the unsurpassable joy that he felt in his constant communion
with God. This joy is found in God’s love,
God’s peace, and God’s will for us.
The concepts of spiritual joy and
humility that Christ calls us to are very different from what so many in our
secular world are chasing after in their lives.
Even today, so many centuries after Christ lived, his message is still
so radical and shocking, and a quest for humility and Christian joy is still
difficult and challenging. But unless we
are willing to wrestle with what it really means to be a follower of Christ, then
the life that he calls us to will always be far from our grasp.
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