Ordinary people struggle with spiritual competitiveness

Good morning, happy Monday, and many blessings.

In the Gospel for today (Luke 9:46-50) Jesus was on a mission, sent by the Creator of the universe, God, to seek and save people who are alienated from the love of their Creator. His life, death and resurrection provides an open gate into heaven. Jesus kept telling the disciples that he was going to Jerusalem where he would be arrested, tried, crucified, and murdered, and then rise on the third day, in order to reestablish peace and forgiveness between human beings and our God.

They did not understand so their conversations, their arguments centered around themselves. Rather than seeing Jesus as the only person worthy of the title “Great”, they fought and feuded over which of them would be #1 in the new kingdom Jesus was going to establish. So, what did Jesus mean when He said we should be like the little child? Did He mean that we should be obedient like a little child, following all of God’s laws like a child follows her or his parent’s rules? Well, you and I know that that idea is so ridiculous that it is laughable.

Maybe Jesus was talking about faith and trust that little children often display. I recall my oldest daughter throwing up her youngest brother, high in the air in a swimming pool. Every time my son came down my daughter caught him. And up he went again. Laughter was constant. You can hear my son say: “One more time. One more time. My son trusted his sister. He knew that his sister would never drop him. The child’s trust was complete. My guess is that we all have done that ourselves. That is what Jesus meant. Trust me. Be humble and quit seeking to be #1.

I also learned in this Gospel that ordinary people struggle with spiritual competitiveness. Now right after Jesus talks to the disciples about welcoming and receiving others the disciples seek to exclude others from ministry. They try to stop, unsuccessfully so, those who are not part of the ‘official group!’ Not only do they argue amongst themselves they argue with another group! I think the other group was a threat - they were casting out demons and the disciples had just experienced failure in this area. They had an us against them mentality, a competitive spirit. We need to be able to bless other ministries out there, even if they are more fruitful than us. More than just wanting them to do well we need to bless even sow into their ministry.

But in order to avoid competition styles we need to learn that greatness lies in humility. There is no greater honor on earth than being accepted by others as a servant of God and Jesus Christ. I recognize that the way of servant leadership is very hard to many Christians. Many prefer the easy way of the world of bossing others rather than serving them, but that is not the way of God. Ambition of honor and strife for superiority and precedency are sins that most easily beset Christians today, as it were in the time of the Disciples of Jesus Christ. We, as they were, also deserve to be rebuked because it flows from the corruptions which we are highly concerned to subdue and mortify.

Jesus exhorted the disciples to be of the temper of a child, humble and quiet, and easy to itself. The exhortation is also for us today. We should not affect worldly pomp or grandeur or high title but must be as dead to them as a little child. We must bear no malice to our rivals and competitors. We must be willing to be the least if that will contribute to our usefulness. We must stoop to the meanest office where we can be useful and do well.

Blessings

Fr. Luis+