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.
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Reflection:
What is the most important virtue of a follower of Jesus? It’s the virtue
of humility. A humble follower of Jesus seeks to follow Him for no other reason
but to humbly serve without seeking anything in return. He doesn’t follow Jesus
because he/she wants to be known, to be powerful and to be popular.
While Jesus and His disciples were passing through Galilee, He was
discussing to them about the things that will happen to Him soon. But the
disciples were not paying attention for the reason that they were preoccupied discussing
who among them was the greatest. What an ego trip for the disciples! Instead of
listening to Jesus they were burnishing among themselves their own self-image.
They were discussing who among them is the greatest.
During that instance the desire to humbly follow Jesus was not anymore
present in their hearts. What was present in their hearts was arrogance, the
desire to selfishly raise up their own self-image. And the desire to be great
based on the finite standards of this world.
If we truly desire to follow Jesus, we have to follow Him with humility.
We have to forget our own selves; we have to discard any form of arrogance in
our hearts and the desire to occupy the starring role. We have to be humble and
simple at all times for this is the only way whereby we can bring others to
Jesus. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
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