The disciples were afraid to ask Jesus about his remarks about the impending suffering of his passion. Perhaps, if they had understood, they would not have then argued about who among them was the greatest.
The spiritual life is accompanied by suffering. Even without the suffering, we must always experience humility. We find this very difficult. Even in a Cistercian monastery which is wholly ordered towards a simple and humble life, we are at risk of abandoning Christ’s central tenet, which was to live, through humility. There are always other things to do, other jobs, other responsibilities, other opportunities to shine and take over interesting roles and positions. It is even worse outside of the monastery, where culture teaches us to be as successful as we can.
It is good to reach. Our career can depend on it. Sometimes, though, we reach too far and end up letting go of our foundational supports. In our case, our foundation is Christ, the rock, who lived and sacrificed himself for us in utter humility. We also have our family and friends as support. Are they, like Jesus, sometimes forgotten because we want to reach as high as we can, become more important in our work, earn more money, own better and bigger houses?
For us, the tipping point, the place where we weigh ourselves, should be the Gospels. Let us place ourselves inside the stories, whilst using the Sacraments as we go, and prove our faith through them. What does Scripture teach us about where we are on our journey to God? Where in our lives is Christ asking us to change, adapt, address and tweak? The question should be a lifelong one.
GOSPEL
The Lord be with you.
And with your spirit
A reading from the Gospel according to Mark
Glory to you, O Lord.
They left that place and passed through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know where they were, because he was teaching his disciples. He said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.” But they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it.
They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?” But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest.
Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.”
He took a little child whom he placed among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.”
The Gospel of the Lord
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.