Dear Friends:

This Sunday’s gospel passage is about the argument of Jesus’ disciples as to who is the greatest. Here you can imagine what they might have argued with one another. Peter said, “Of course without any doubt, I am the important or the greatest .Didn’t he call me the rock on which that community of his was going to be built?”

John said, “I am sorry for you. What you say 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 greatest. You should be attentive to something important. You should look for his love, if you do that, well, he loves me most.”

Then Judas spoke, he said, “the most important fellow is the man with the money. You don’t need to be a capitalist to know that. The world is ruled by money, and whom did he entrust his money? To me and that is why I am the greatest.”

Philip spoke, “All that is Do you remember when he had that catering problem in the desert with all those thousands, when nobody knew what to do? He turned to me for advice. I am sorry for you but he asked me and therefore I am the greatest and so on.”

The Lord answered them “whoever wants to be the first must be the last of all and servant of all” (Mk9:35). He called a child, whom he placed among them and said, “Truly I tell you unless you change and become like children you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 18:1-4).

The greatest in the kingdom of heaven, one must have the virtues of children namely simplicity, trustfulness, docility, humility, openness and innocence. To be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, one must give up one’s personal opinion in order to accept Christ’s truth, one must put aside one’s own personal preference which conflict with God’s will, one must give up what may mean one’s profit when one is called to engage in Christ’s work.

Let us therefore not ask ourselves who is the greatest but ask ourselves how can we use our own personal gifts and talents to serve others in our parish community so that God may recognize us and reward us eternally.

May god bless you all

Fr.Chris