Gospel: Luke 9:46-50
An
argument arose among the disciples about which of them was the greatest. Jesus
realized the intention of their hearts and took a child and placed it by his
side and said to them, “Whoever receives this child in my name receives me, and
whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. For the one who is least
among all of you is the one who is the greatest.”
Then John
said in reply, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name and we
tried to prevent him because he does not follow in our company.” Jesus said to
him, “Do not prevent him, for whoever is not against you is for you.”
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Reflection:
Who is
the greatest? It’s the humble one, the one who is always willing to serve us,
always willing to be with us. We may not know it but Jesus has been serving us
since time immemorial. He is in the person of the priest during the Sacrament
of Reconciliation forgiving us of our sins.
He is
always present in the Eucharistic or Holy Mass celebration humbly giving His
Body and Blood to nourish our body and our soul. He is the greatest treasure
that we can ever have! But His greatness is a paradox to some of us because we
measure greatness by our earthly standards.
Such as
greatness thru power and influence this is mostly fueled by political power,
position in government and in the private sector and the size of our bank
account. But this greatness is passing and temporary; the time will come that
this shall pass us and we shall be forgotten.
Jesus is
the personification of true greatness: His humility, His self-sacrifice and His
refusal to wield power for His own self interest. This greatness of Jesus is
usually unheard in this world nevertheless we should emulate the greatness of
Jesus. – Marino J. Dasmarinas