Wisdom 2: 12, 17-20; James 3: 16-43; Mark 9:30-37
Fr. Kevin
“Who is the most important?”
If you want people to believe you tell them a big lie. Not a little lie. But a big one. A lie so big, that when analyzed at face value it couldn’t possibly be true. Then after people believe your lie, you can say or do almost anything and people will believe you, and then you will have power over them.
That is the way it was with Adolph Hitler. He told a nation of people a gigantic lie. He believed that he could create a super race of people by getting rid of the undesirables. In his wake countless millions of people lost their lives because he labeled them as undesirables. They were undesirable because they were Jewish, or Polish, or old, or homosexual. They were undesirable because they did not fit the mold of his Arian race. And thousands of people believed his lie. And thousands of people participated in the horror of the holocaust.
Hitler managed to wield his power in the ugliest way known to humankind. He wielded his power to execute those people whom he felt were unworthy of living. Hitler, in exercising his power, tried to play God. He thought that he was the most important.
The disciples of Jesus also wondered about their own importance. For months Jesus had been journeying with these men, he had cast out demons, healed the sick, and cleansed lepers, given sight to the blind. He had healed both men and women, Gentiles and Jews. He spent his life in service to other people. He had fed thousands of people, and yet they still didn’t get it. You would think that after all of these events they would have known about power, and greatness.
It is no wonder they fell silent when he asked them what they were discussing. They must have felt pretty foolish for they too were wondering about their own greatness. Jesus gave them the most vivid lesson of all. He brought a little child in their midst and called this child the greatest.
This was the most eye-opening example that Jesus could give to these men. For a child in their day was the ultimate symbol of helplessness. A child had no rights or privileges. A child was the absolute lowest person on the social stratum of their day, and Jesus placed this child in their midst as the greatest.
These men had reason to be embarrassed for they were measuring greatness by human standards. They were caught up in the lie of human greatness and power. As humans we measure power in: wealth, social status, intelligence.
We measure power by the color of one’s skin, by their physical strength, by a person’s gender.
Power is something which gives us control over others, which gives us certain rights and privileges, which gives us a sense of authority.
If you believe this my friends, if you buy into this mentality, then you are living a big lie. Greatness is vastly different in the kingdom of God. Power is exactly the opposite of how we perceive power as humans. In the kingdom of God power belongs to the poor, the helpless, the needy, the oppressed. This is because people in these situations have a special relationship with God, by sharing in the suffering and death of Jesus. The lives of those who are powerless on this earth are a vivid reminder to us of the powerlessness which Jesus accepted on his way to the cross.
He could have stopped what some would have called this foolish destiny. He could have saved himself from suffering and death but he knew that each of us would also suffer and die. Because of this knowledge, he freely and willingly chose to remain powerless and as a result accepted the greatest power of all, to follow the will of God.
So what is this real power of which Jesus speaks? How do we know when we are following God’s power? The apostle Paul has something to teach us about power. He calls it wisdom.
Wisdom gives us power when we:
- strive for peace in a world torn by war and civil unrest
- are lenient to those who do us wrong and are docile and mild tempered to those who anger us
- are rich in sympathy for those who are suffering and in need of healing
- perform kind deeds for the needy, and for those who cannot help themselves
- show impartiality to all people, irregardless of race, sex, creed, or national origin
- are sincere in our commitment to serve one another.
My friends let us stop living the lie of human power. Let us stop measuring power by human standards. Let us see power as it comes from God in the gift of service to one another.
“If anyone wishes to rank first, they must remain the last one of all and the servant of all.”
a great homily, Fr. Kevin! It says “social justice” in every word.