Who Is The Greatest?

This is a computer-generated transcription that has been included to make the homily searchable.  It has not been verified by the author. 

“They were silent, for on the way, they had been discussing with one another who was the greatest.” Jesus has just been talking about His passion, what was going to happen to Him. And so what are the apostles arguing about on their way? Which one of them is the greatest. And so the apostles were very human, like us, very human. And they were thinking about comparisons and competitions. In the second reading we had today, St James is talking about jealousy and envy and selfish ambition and all the conflicts that creates. And I think we all know that also, that the conflicts of competition and comparison comparing ourselves to others. Does that ever happen to you? Do you ever think, well, how do I compare to the other person? And they were wondering, who was the first. We have that expression, we’re number one. There’s a lot of other numbers besides one, but nobody ever talks about the other numbers, right? I don’t know where all the other numbers are, but the other numbers never admit it, but we always want to be – we’re number one, And even in the Church, there’s competition, even in spiritual things, even in spiritual gifts. and we see someone else has spiritual gifts that we don’t have. And how do we feel? We feel, Oh, that’s wonderful. Or do we feel? Well, how come I don’t? You know, so, this is something that we all struggle with, and then it can have serious consequences. You know right at the very beginning of Scripture, right after the original sin, there’s the problem between Cain and Abel. And Cain is upset not because Abel is doing something wrong, but because he’s doing something good, and so that leads Cain to kill his brother. So it’s a difficult struggle. The issue that Jesus is talking about today, in an issue that’s a weed that’s rooted in all of us. So I want to share with you today, a passage from a book by a mystic. A lot of you have heard us talk often about her, Maria Valtorta, and the book is called “The Gospel As It Was Revealed to Me.” And one thing I can say now that we weren’t able to say earlier, is that the Lord Himself has encouraged us to read this book of hers. It’s a lot of us have read it a number of times, and, you know, there’s a lot of interest today in the movie that, or the film, the series, “The Chosen.” And there’s been other examples of that before, like Jesus of Nazareth and so forth. A lot of times that’s a human imagination, imagining scenes from the gospel. But I think what we have in Maria Valtora does something much beyond that. I don’t think it’s just a human imagination. I believe it’s divinely inspired. If it’s not divinely inspired, I think it’s much harder to explain.  Because this was a person who was in her bed, bedridden at that point, very ill during World War Two, it happened. She wrote in 43 and 44 in a little village, she didn’t have access to hardly anything. And so if she was able to write this, she’s the greatest, I think, literary genius, of humanity. But also, there’s also anyway. There’s a lot of even archeologists have discovered things today that weren’t known at her time, but which correspond to what she’s saying in this book. So this, it seems very miraculous. And Mother Teresa, her spiritual director, said that when she traveled, she only traveled with three books, the Bible, the Liturgy of the Hours and this book of Maria Valtorta. In Medjugorje. Medjugorje is in the news recently with the Vatican announcement. But it appears that Medjugorje, our Blessed Mother, spoke to them about this book, also recommending this book. I don’t know any book that gives helps you understand as well, the gospel, as this book. So whether you read it as inspired, or whether you read as just her imagination to just to get an insight into the gospel. I don’t for me, I don’t know anything better, and an insight into the gospel is pretty important, right? So this book, doesn’t replace the gospel, but it helps us to understand a bit more deeply. So I’m going to read to you a passage from that book, and then I’ll share with you some reflections afterwards. So it starts out, “I see Jesus walking along a country road, surrounded and followed by His apostles and disciples. As He often does Jesus,” (And as I’m reading this, if you want, you can just close your eyes and kind of put yourself in that spot. One thing I should say about this book, if you try to read it, there’s some parts which are very descriptive, and some people like that description, where she talks about the flowers and the sky and what the people are wearing, all that. Some people love that. Some people don’t like that at all. So if you don’t like that part, just skip over it. And also, some parts are more teaching, but a lot of it is just telling what happened. And so there’s, if there’s parts you don’t like, you can just skip over them. But it’s very, it’s very helpful.)  “As He often does. Jesus is walking a few steps ahead of His disciples, only two or three steps, not more, to be alone with His thoughts as He needs tranquility after evangelizing for a full day. Behind him, on the other hand, the disciples have entered into an animated discussion. They are recalling the events of the day, and they are rather heavy-handed in appraising other people’s faults and shortcomings. They are more or less severe in the fact that those responsible for the collection of the temple tribute exacted payment from Jesus. Peter, always impulsive, states that, “it is a sacrilege because the Messiah is not obliged to pay the tribute. It is asking God to pay himself,” he says, “and it’s not right. And if they do not believe that He is the Messiah, it becomes a sacrilege.” Jesus turns around for a moment and says, “Simon, Simon, there will be many people who mistrust Me, even among those who think that their faith in Me is safe and unshakable. Do not judge your brother, Simon, always judge yourself first.” Judas, smiling ironically, says to Peter, who feels mortified and has lowered his head, “that’s for you simply because you’re the oldest. You always want to play the teacher. It’s not true that one’s merits are judged according to one’s age. Among Us, there are some who are above you by knowledge and social power.” They thus enter into discussion on their respective merits, and some boast of being among the first disciples. Some base their preferential argument on the influential position they gave up to follow Jesus. And there are those who say that no one has the same rights as they have, because no one has turned so much by changing from a publican to a disciple. The discussion lasts a long time, and if I were not afraid of offending the apostles, I would say that it takes the tone of a real quarrel. Jesus pays no attention to them. He does not seem to hear them. They have in the meantime, reached the first houses of the village, which I know is Capernaum. Jesus proceeds. The others follow Him, discussing all the time. A little boy of seven or eight years old, runs tripping after Jesus. He overtakes the vociferous group of the apostles and reaches Jesus. He calls the master confidentially, as if he were very familiar with him. He says, “Jesus, will you let me come with you as far as your house?” “Does your mother know?” asked Jesus smiling at him kindly. “Yes, she does.” “Is that true?” Although smiling, Jesus cast a piercing glance at him. “Yes, Jesus, it’s true.” “Okay, come on.” The boy jumps for joy and takes the left hand of Jesus, who stretches it out to him.  With how much loving reliance the child places his little hand into Jesus’ long hand. “Tell me a nice parable, Jesus,” says the boy skipping besides Jesus and looking up at him, his face shining with joy. Jesus also looks at him with a cheerful smile. His eyes spark with joy while He looks at the child. “What will you do with the parable? It’s not a game.” “Oh, it’s better than a game. When I go to bed, I think about it, then I dream of it, and the following day, I remember it, and I repeat it to myself to be good. It makes me good.” “Do you remember it?” “Yes, I do. You want me to repeat to you all the ones that you told me?” “You are smart, Benjamin, smarter than men who forget. As a prize. I will tell you a parable.” The boy no longer hops about. He walks seriously and as seriously as an adult would. He does not miss one word or inflection of Jesus, whom he watches carefully without even worrying about where he puts his feet. So then it recounts that the parable that Jesus tells him, and I’m not going to – it’s a parable about a shepherd – it’s not one in the Gospel. And I won’t, for lack of time, I won’t read that. “That is the end of the parable Benjamin. Now you can tell me, who is that good shepherd?” “It’s you Jesus.” “And who is the little lamb?” “It’s me, Jesus.” “But I will be going away now, you will forget me.” “No, Jesus, I will not forget you, because I love you.”  “Your love will come to an end when you no longer see Me.”  “No, I’ll repeat to myself the words that you spoke to me, and it’ll be the same as if you were present. I will love you and obey you that way. And tell me, Jesus, will you remember Benjamin?” “Always.”  “And how will you remember?” “I will say to myself that you promised to love and obey me, and I will thus remember you.” “And will you give me your kingdom?” “I will, if you are good,” “I will be good.”  “But what will you do? Life is long?”  “Well, your words are very good, too. If I repeat them to myself and I do what they say and what they say I should do, I will be good all my life, and I will do that because I love you. When you love it is not difficult to be good. I do not find it difficult to obey my mother because I love her, and it will not be difficult for me to obey you, because I love you.”  Jesus stops and looks at the little face, which is lit by love more than by the sun. Jesus’ joy is so deep that another sun seems to be burning in His soul and shining through His eyes. He bends and kisses the forehead of the child. He has stopped near a humble house with a well in front. Jesus sits down near the well where He is joined by the disciples who are still arguing over their prerogatives. Jesus looks at them, then He calls them, “come here around me and listen to the last lesson of the day. You have shouted yourselves hoarse, celebrating your own merits, and believe that you will gain a position according to them. See this child, he is, in truth, more than you are. His innocence gives him the key to open the gates of My Kingdom. In his simplicity of a child, he has understood that the strength necessary to become great, lies in love, and that obedience practiced with love is required to enter my Kingdom. Be simple and humble, be affectionate, not to me only, but to one another. Obey my words, all of them, also the ones I am speaking to you now, if you wish to reach the place that these innocent souls will enter. Learn from the little ones. The father reveals the truth to them, but He does not reveal it to the wise.” Jesus is speaking, holding Benjamin against his knees with his hands on the boy’s shoulders. Jesus countenance is majestic. He is serious, not angry, but serious. And so this is speaking about children. And we know in our society children, because children are especially hated, hated by satan, because they are especially loved by the Lord. And so abortion is one of the signs and so many other aspects in which our society, physically or spiritually, attacks children, especially attacking the innocence of children. You know, in our world, of course, that those attacks begin earlier and earlier. And so now even many children, very earlier and earlier, are losing their innocence and being exposed to bad stuff. And this is speaking of an era in which children were still more protected. So then later on that night, on the shore of the lake, Jesus says to them, so Benjamin has gone. Jesus says, “come and listen.” So this now he’s talking not just to His apostles, but also to a larger group of disciples. “Come and listen. We shall be parting shortly, and I wish to instruct you to perfect you further. I heard you dispute today, and not always, charitably. I have already given the seniors among you the lesson, but I wanted to give it to all of you as well, and it will do the seniors no harm to hear it again. Little Benjamin is no longer here, standing against my knees. He is sleeping in his bed and dreaming his innocent dreams. But perhaps his innocent soul is here among us just the same. But imagine that he or some other child is here as an example to you. Each of you has in his heart a fixed idea, a curiosity, a danger. That is to be the first in the kingdom of heaven, to know who the first will be. And at last, the danger, the still human desire to hear the reply you are the first in the kingdom of heaven, uttered by your obliging companions, or by the master, by the master of whose truthfulness and knowledge of the future you are aware. Isn’t it so? The questions tremble on your lips and dwell in the depths of your heart. Your master, for your own good, yields to that curiosity, although He loathes giving assent to human curiosity. But as this curiosity may teach you a good lesson, I will reply to it for this once, although I abhor curious and disrespectful questions. You are asking which of us will be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.  I do not take into consideration the limit of us, and I extend to the frontiers, to the whole present and future world. And I reply, “He is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, who is the least among men.” That is He who is considered the least by men, the simple, the humble, the trustful, the innocent that is a child or he who can make his soul to be like the soul of a child, once again. Neither knowledge nor power, nor wealth, nor hard work, not even good, hard work will make you the greatest in the blessed Kingdom. It is necessary to be like children with regard to loving, kindness, humility, simplicity and faith. Watch how children love Me and imitate them; how they believe in me and imitate them; how they remember what I say and imitate them; how they do what I teach them and imitate them; how they do not pride themselves on what they do and imitate them; how they do not become jealous of me and of their companions and imitate them. I solemnly tell you that if you do not change your ways of thinking, of acting and of loving and you do not remold them on the pattern of children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. They know the essential elements of My doctrine as you know them, but how differently they practice what I teach. For every good action you accomplish, you say, I did that. A child says to me, “I remembered you today. I obeyed for your sake. I love, I refrain from quarreling, and I am happy because I know that you are aware when I am good, and you are pleased.” And watch children when they are at fault, how humbly they confess, “today I was naughty and I am sorry because I made you sad,” and they do not find excuses. They know that I know they believe they are sorry because I am sorry. How dear children are to my heart. There is no pride, no duplicity, no lust in them. I tell you, once again, become like children if you wish to enter my Kingdom. Love children as they are angelical examples, still at your disposal, because you ought to be like angels.  As an excuse, you may say, we do not see angels. But God gives you children as examples, and you have children among you. And if you see a child who is physically or morally forlorn and who may perish, welcome him in My name because they are greatly loved by God. And He who welcomes a child in my name, welcomes me because I am in the innocent souls of children. And he who welcomes me, welcomes Him who sent me, the most high.” So that’s the passage from Maria Valtorta. And recalling the words of the gospel, “if anyone would be first, he must be the last and the servant of all.” And St Matthew’s Gospel, it says, The Lord says, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” So what type of greatness is the Lord talking about? So there’s the greatness, the earthly greatness, which is very limited, and it doesn’t last very long, and it’s often very corrupted. And there’s the greatness of the kingdom of heaven, which is pure and true and immense and will last forever. And one is caused by men, sometimes working with the devil, and one is caused by God above all. But when we work with God, because God delights in sharing His greatness, His glory. But it’s a greatness which comes from giving, from helping others, helping others become great. “If anyone would be the first, he must be the last of all and the servant of all.” So it’s a greatness of service, so not by hurting so many of those who are considered great, like in human greatness, get there by taking advantage of others, even terribly taking advantage of others. And this is done by not hurting, robbing, pushing others down, but by building others up. What would the world be like if everyone had this type of competition, of trying to serve more? And so Jesus, this is an encouraging message when we sense our own weakness, because this greatness does not come by our own strength, by our own abilities, but by God’s gift, God’s gift of His Holy Spirit.  And so even when we experience humiliations and failures, and life can sometimes be very full of humiliations and failures and bitterness, but those can be what begin to free us from our ego, our selfishness, our pride, our arrogance, and begin to open us up to true greatness. So it’s a paradox, because the very things which seemed to us to be destroying our greatness, it can actually be the opportunities to open ourselves up to eternal greatness.  And even when the Lord, just when the Lord, lets us feel our own spiritual defects, because we’re trying to be faithful to Him and virtuous, and then we experience so many, so many we fail so many times, and we feel so discouraged and humiliated by that. But that can actually be what helps us have the littleness and the humility to open ourselves up to His gift. So greatness and glory is available to each one of us if we take this very different path, this divine path, this path of becoming like a child. And so if you want to, during this Mass, that can be an opportunity to perhaps think of one way in your life that you can begin to put this into practice, following the example of our Blessed Mother and Saint Joseph. “If anyone would be the first, he must be the last of all, and the servant of all. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” Amen. 

KEYWORDS / PHRASES:
Mark 9:30-37
James 3:16-4:3
Wisdom 2:12, 17-20