……from the Pastor’s Desk…
Some Truths are Hard to Hear
Some questions are hard to ask.
We can all struggle at times to listen to someone if what they say arouses painful emotions in us. They might be trying to tell us something about ourselves that we find difficult to hear. That very human tendency is reflected in the disciples in today’s gospel.
Jesus had something very important to say about what was going to happen to him. He told them that he would find himself in the hands of others, who would put him to death. This was something that the disciples found very hard to hear and were not able to take in or accept.
As the gospel says, ‘they did not understand what he said and they were afraid to ask him.’ Jesus had already told them what was likely to happen to him. They were no more open to hearing it the second time than they were the first. They did not understand it and were reluctant to question him for fear they might not be able to live with the answers he would give them.
We may find ourselves unwilling to ask questions because we suspect we would struggle with the answers we receive. Yet, in our heart of hearts, we often recognize that there are certain realities we must face, even if they are painful. There are certain illusions, or ambitions, we may have to let go of, even if we have come to cherish them.
In the second part of today’s gospel Jesus worked to pry his disciples away from the illusions that being part of his inner circle would bring them privilege and status. They argued amongst themselves as to which of them was the greatest. This is the kind of self-centered ambition of which James says is ‘…an ambition that you cannot satisfy…’
Jesus places before his disciples a very different kind of ambition; the ambition to serve in a new way, as he says, ‘those who want to be first must make themselves last of all and servant of all.’ This ambition to serve is something that ‘makes for peace and is kindly and considerate; it is full of compassion and shows itself by doing good.’
As Jesus teaches his disciples, and all of us, he performs a very significant action. He takes a little child and sets the child in front of his disciples, puts his arms around the child and declares that whoever welcomes one such child, welcomes him and not only him but God the Father who sent him.
By this action Jesus says that the ambition to serve must give priority to the most vulnerable members of society, symbolized by the child who is completely dependent on adults for his or her wellbeing. This new ambition is to serve those who, for one reason or another, are not in a position to serve themselves. Jesus puts this ambition to serve him, as he comes to us in and through the weakest members of society, over and above the ambition of the disciples to serve themselves.
In our gospel Jesus places before us what his family of disciples, what the church, is really about.
So, may our question be, “Jesus, how may I serve you today?”
You may be surprised by the answer you receive.
Father Ron
