Twenty-Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time-B
The Apostles of Jesus were not immune from fallen human nature just because they were his disciples. This fact was made evident by their conversation on their way to Capernaum. The disciples were arguing about who was the greatest. The subject of the discussion about supremacy is a characteristic of our fallen state. It is the “law of the jungle,” which stipulates that the apex predator is the one who survives the longest. We all tend to want to be the alpha, and this drive is only tempered by a belief in a higher calling of love instead of might.
In the second reading, St. James is spot on with this tendency. “Where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every foul practice.” He then describes a person who searches for wisdom instead of ambition this way, “But the wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peaceable, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, without inconstancy or insincerity.”
Jesus, who knows human nature well, tries to teach his disciples by telling them their assumption of being the greatest is upside down. And how can it not be? The fallen nature left without assistance leads only to destruction and death. So, what does someone gain by being the first if it only leads to his doom? The short-sightedness of the adult disciples and their misunderstanding are childish and are a response we can all relate to, and is a failure to comprehend the bigger picture of human existence.
Paradoxically, Jesus uses the disciple’s childishness to make his point about what greatness entails. Putting his arms around a child, Jesus says, “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.”
The significance of the child is to bring home the point that the one who is the greatest is not the one who is the most powerful. A youngster is never the most prominent in the group in the animal kingdom or the human realm. The message is clear: to be the greatest means the starting point is lowliness without the power and prestige the world gives.
Both Jesus and his mother, Mary, exemplified a life of lowliness. No one would doubt the greatness of Jesus or his Blessed Mother. The key for Christians is the way we think of greatness. We miss the boat entirely if we define it like the world does. Jesus urges us to forget worldly greatness completely and aspire to something higher. Jesus teaches us that greatness (if we need to use the term) is not based not upon a worldly category but on sharing the life of God. The saints in heaven are all great because they forever share God’s greatness.
To become a saint, one must either live an exemplary life on earth or live a good life and be purified in purgatory. Jesus tells us what an outstanding life looks like. It is the example of Jesus, who never searched for worldly titles or exaltations. Instead, it is to live a life based on serving one another in God’s name. This is why Christians are called to help the poor, visit the sick, and perform other charitable acts. By doing so, we are great because we are already sharing in the ultimate greatness of God.
What about all those who are not quite as service-minded or charitable as the saints were in their lives? As mentioned, purgatory is an actual and necessary place for those who have fallen short. No one knows for sure, but can it be a dimension that gives a person a chance to ‘iron out’ their faults? One could conceivably have spent too much time on being the greatest or the alpha and realizing our search and toil on earth was in vain.
Perhaps we will see things as they are in purgatory, and if we haven’t realized things like what greatness is on earth, we might have the chance to know greatness is not something an individual obtains, but instead, it is a sharing in the greatness of God.
We become holier when our thoughts and actions are directed toward sharing greatness and obtaining it for ourselves. Acts of service and charity are the way we get there.
St. John of the Cross
One thought on “The Fallacy of Greatness”