“HONEY FROM THE ROCK”
Monday, 26th September 2016,
Twenty Sixth Week of Ordinary Time
Job 1: 6-22
Ps 17: 1-3, 6-7;
Lk 9: 46-50.
Ps 17: 1-3, 6-7;
Lk 9: 46-50.
DEPENDENT ON GOD OUR FATHER!
The gospel starts out with an argument arose among the disciples about which of them was the greatest. Jesus has just told the disciples that when he enters into Jerusalem, he will be handed over to the authorities and will be killed. He confides in them that he is about to lose his life and their concern is who is number 1!
Jesus simply dramatizes the absurdity of their actions by taking a child and placing it by his side: “whoever receives this child in my name receives me...for the one who is least among all of you is the one who is the greatest.” In Jesus’ culture a child represented the “least” because they had nothing to offer to anyone. Their dignity was simply in the fact that they were, not that they had any power or influence of themselves.
As we grow into adulthood, however, it’s easy to think that we become less dependent and have less need, and more of an ability to take care of ourselves. Jesus reminds us that this is indeed not the case, which is hard for someone like us who like to think of ourselves as self-sufficient and able to take care of and deal with things on our own. The greatest among us are those who recognize their need for others, are able to allow themselves to rely on others, because it is those people who are most in tune with the nature of God and their own nature as beings dependent upon God. When we humbly accept our dependence on God and each other, and accept our own incompleteness, brokenness, and imperfection, we are less likely to exclude and judge others who are different than us and who don’t live up to our own expectations. When we begin along that path, then we will have at least begun to understand what it means to be the “greatest” in the eyes of God.
Prayer: Lord, lead us to recognize that YOU are our focus, that you are the one on whom we are always dependent. Lord may I never be self-sufficient, rather be Jesus-sufficient. Amen