Faith, Trust and Humility of a Child

09-19-2021Weekly ReflectionFr. Anthony Okolo, C.S.Sp

Last week’s gospel presented us with the question Jesus asked His disciples: who do people say that the Son of Man is? The different responses of the disciples failed to give a correct answer to the identity of who Jesus is, which prompted Him to ask them more directly, but “who you say that I Am?” Then, Peter spoke on behalf of the apostles that He was the Christ which means the Anointed One.

In today’s gospel, Jesus continues His explanation of the implication of His Messiah ship as He tells the apostles “the Son of Man is to be handed over to men and they will kill Him, and three days after His death the Son of Man will rise.” Surprisingly the apostles never understood what He was saying and could not ask Him any questions. Thus, instead of trying to find out what He said, they were busy quarreling and arguing among themselves over who is the greatest among them while Jesus was talking about His death and journey to Jerusalem where He would be rejected, scorched, crucified and finally put to death. They were concerned with who would occupy positions of authority. It is not uncommon that an individual faces certain life challenges and tries to share the fears and uncertainties with close relatives or friends only to find out that they not understand the situation, thus discussing other issues of selfish interest. This has caused a lot of broken relationships between friends and family members.

The attitude of the apostles proves they never really understood their Master, hence they could be talking of who is the greatest while Jesus is talking of a very serious issue of His death and crucifixion. Jesus instead of getting angry with them calls them inside the house and gently explains to them the value of service to others. The service one gives to another is what makes an individual great and not how much one lords over others. He tells them if anyone wants to be the greatest or first, this person must be the servant of all. It means that greatness is found in service and humility. Jesus’ attitude to the apostles teaches, the simple way of dealing gently with people who do not understand the bitter crisis one goes through. He teaches the need for patience with people who do not seem to understand what goes on in our inner minds. It is very irrational on the part of the apostles that as Jesus was battling with what would happen to Him, they were struggling over positions and power. The key message here is patience with others.

These struggles for power, prestige and position breed jealousy and envy which cause division and bitterness in our families and communities. To rid ourselves of these evils, Jesus calls us today to imitate the simplicity and trust of the little children who have no power of their own, but depend on others for their sustenance. In the same way, when we abandon ourselves to the hands of God, He takes care of us. Children have total trust, simplicity of heart and do not have ungodly ambition and jealousy that destroy our inner peace and relationship with God and another person. Let us take away envy in our lives to be at peace. Let us be simple, humble and trust in God for He will take care of us.

Fr. Tony Okolo

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