Last of all
In today’s Gospel, Jesus challenges us to rethink our ideas of greatness and leadership. In our world, greatness is often associated with power, status, and recognition. But Jesus turns this notion upside down. True greatness lies in humility and service to others, especially the most vulnerable and overlooked.
Jesus uses the example of a child to illustrate this point. In the days of the New Testament, children had no status or power. By embracing what it means to be a child, we are called to embrace humility and serve without seeking reward or recognition.
One of the greatest gifts I have been given in this Year of Prayer is the Litany of Humility. Before writing about it for the Catholic Enquiry Centre, Litany had never been a type of prayer I’d tried before, outside of Mass anyway. Saying this prayer has changed everything. Ego has taken a backseat making my work considerably more joyful and meaningful. However, it is a prayer I need to say regularly for maintenance. I should probably say it daily. Humility is the opposite of what I was taught to value as a child and old habits are stubborn. We need to seek to teach children a better way, and modelling humility ourselves is the best way to do this.
Children are not just vulnerable, but they are also fearless, naturally optimistic and playful. They pull things apart to see how they work and give things a go even if they don’t entirely know what they’re doing. Think of what we could achieve in terms of evangelisation, caring for others, prayer, and making a change for the good of the world, if we all took this attitude to life. Serving others doesn’t mean abandoning our gifts; we can use our gifts for God’s purpose and not for recognition.
As we reflect on this Gospel, let’s ask ourselves: How do we define greatness in our lives? Are we seeking to be the best or the most important, or are we striving to be servants to others? We each have a way of being able to serve. Let us use our God-given talent to serve others, especially those who are often forgotten or marginalised.
Today's Readings: Wisdom 2:12.17,20 Psalm 53 (54) James 3:16-4:3 Mark 9:30-37
Link to the Litany of Humility page is HERE
Source: Twenty-fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time
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