18-Sept-2018 Dear Friend, Mohammed Ali, the one-time heavy weight champion would often boast, “I am the greatest!” and believed he was. We may not openly claim to be the greatest in any particular field but deep down we like to feel that we are on the top, we belong to the elite, second to none. We all play the power game in one way or another and much of our behavior is aimed at asserting “I am No. 1!” For that matter, who is the greatest in the Kingdom of God? Is my life running on man-power or God’s power? May His word challenge us to be powerless in His Kingdom. Have an insightful weekend! –Fr Jude Sunday Refl. 25th Sunday “Christian discipleship is a call to humility and servant leadership” 23-Sept-2018Wis 2: 12, 17-20; James 3:16 – 4: 3; Mark 9: 3-37;
The first reading from the book of Wisdom reminds us that often the just man has to endure suffering not because he has done evil, not because he has sinned, but precisely because he is walking the path of justice, the path of truth, the path of God. Because of his upright life others feel threatened, others feel uncomfortable, others feel guilty and challenged and so they retaliate. They hit out at the just person who stands for God and His values. When we are put to the test do we resort to proving how tough we are, or are we ready to accept our powerlessness so that God can reveal His power and presence in our lives? True GreatnessKing Oscar II, monarch of Sweden and Norway, at the turn of the century, enjoyed visiting schools and talking formally to the pupils. Calling on a village school one day, the king asked the pupils to name the greatest kings of Sweden. The answers were unanimous: Gustavus Vasa, Gustavus Adolphus, Charles XII. The teacher was embarrassed with the response so she leaned over to one little boy and whispered something in his ear. “And King Oscar”, proclaimed the child. “Really? And what has King Oscar done that is so remarkable?” asked the king. “I-I-I don’t know” stammered the confused child. “That’s all right my boy,” said the king. “Neither do I.”Dennis McBride In the Gospel, as they come down the mountain, Jesus tells his disciples that he will have to suffer, be handed over and put to death. But the disciples do not want to understand what Jesus is speaking about. While Jesus is talking about being powerless in the face of suffering and death, they are talking of who among them is the greatest of all! For the apostles, and maybe for us, what matters is power to show, to exercise authority, to make known who is the boss. For Jesus what mattered was the power to submit to God’s will, the power to submit to others, to trust in his Father’s power rather than his own. To drive the point home, Jesus says, “If you want to be first in God’s Kingdom, first in God’s eyes, you have to be ready to be last of all, to be servant of all.” The disciples still do not understand the point that Jesus is trying to make; so Jesus takes a little child present, sets him in the center and says to his disciples: “Anyone who welcomes one of these little children in my name, welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me, welcomes not me but the one who sent me.” What is the point Jesus is making through this enigmatic statement? Why did Jesus use a little child? In the time of Jesus the child had no rights till it grew up to be an adult. Yet God came to us in the form of a child, totally dependent on others. Jesus in today’s gospel, once again, affirms his readiness to give up all power, to submit to suffering, to submit to death itself, the ultimate loss of the power of life. In embracing the child, Jesus is embracing weakness, is affirming his choice of being on the side of powerless who believe not in their own strength but rely totally in the power of God. Are we ready to embrace our weakness to experience His power in our lives? Measuring greatness!Peter said: “Of course without doubt, I am the most important! Didn’t he call me the rock on which that community of his is going to be built?” John said: “I am sorry for you. What you said might be true, but that is only a question of administrative bureaucracy. The fact that you might be a good administrator does not make you the most important one. You should look for something else. You should be attentive to something more important. You should look for his love, and if you do that, well, he loved me most.” Then Judas spoke. He said: “The most important fellow is the man with the money. You don’t need to be a Marxist or a capitalist to know that. The world is ruled by money, and to whom did he entrust his money? To me, and that is why…” Phillip spoke: “All that is very nice. Do you remember when he had that catering problem in the desert with all those thousands, when nobody knew what to do, himself included? He turned to me for advice. I am sorry for you but he asked me!”Joseph D Donders in ‘Praying and Preaching the Sunday Gospel’ Servant of allDr Charles Mayo with his father and brother founded the famous Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. One time a group of European medical experts were guests of Dr Mayo at his home. According to the custom of their homeland the guests placed their shoes outside their bedroom doors to be polished during the night. Dr Charles was the last to retire. As he went to his room he noticed the shoes. It was too late to wake up any of the servants. With a sigh he gathered up all the footwear, hauled them into the kitchen, and spent half the night polishing them.Msgr Arthur Tonne All God’s childrenThere is a legend told about Abraham in the Mideast. According to the legend, he always held off eating his breakfast each morning until a hungry man came along to share it with him. One day an old man came along and, of course, Abraham invited him to share his breakfast with him. However, when Abraham heard the old man say a pagan blessing over the food, he jumped up and ordered the old man from his table and from his house. Almost immediately God spoke to Abraham. Abraham! Abraham! I have been supplying that unbeliever with food everyday for the past eighty years. Could you not have tolerated him for just one meal?” We are all children of God. God has no grandchildren!Jack McArdle in ‘And That’s the Gospel Truth’ The kind of person one isWhen Nelson Mandela was a student lawyer in Johannesburg, he had a friend whose name was Paul Mahabane. Mahabane was a member of the African National Congress (ANC), and had the reputation of being a radical. One day the two of them were standing outside the post office when the local magistrate, a white man in his sixties, approached Mahabane and asked him to buy him some stamps. It was quite common in those days for a white person to call on a black person to perform a chore. Paul refused, the magistrate was offended. ‘Do you know who I am?’ he asked, his face turning red with anger. ‘It is not necessary to know who you are’ Mahabane replied. ‘I know what you are.’ The magistrate boiled over and exclaimed. ‘You’ll pay dearly for this,’ and then walked away. That white man was convinced that he was superior to Mahabane simply because he was a magistrate. And it had become second nature to him to expect others, especially if they were black, to serve him.Flor McCarthy in ‘New Sunday and Holy day Liturgies’ May I be master of myself to be the servant of all! Fr. Jude Botelho [email protected] PS. The stories, incidents and anecdotes used in the reflections have been collected over the years from books as well as from sources over the net and from e-mails received. Every effort is made to acknowledge authors whenever possible. If you send in stories or illustrations I would be grateful if you could quote the source as well so that they can be acknowledged if used in these reflections.These reflections are also available on my Web site www.NetForLife.net Thank you.
