25th Sunday of Year B September 20,2009
Embracing Discipleship
As his public ministry in Galilee comes to a close, Jesus for a second time predicts his death and
resurrection to his disciples. He seems keen to be alone with them. He addresses them exclusively at a
time when they cannot be distracted by the demands of the crowds.
However, once more, his disciples are still unable to fully comprehend what he is trying to tell them.
They are even afraid to question him further. They are not ready to hear what he might say in terms of
what being his disciple, his true follower, might mean.
Jesus and the band of the disciples move further as they journey to Capernaum. Jesus, having noticed
that an argument had broken out, asks what it was all about. Once more, they remain silent –ashamed to
admit that they were arguing on the question of status: who has the greatest position amongst them?
Jesus takes the opportunity to instruct them further on what being a disciple entails. It is not about
occupying a position of honour, but about forgetting oneself in the service of others. To be a disciple
means a readiness to take the last place, and to be the servant of all.
The kingdom of God is not like some worldly kingdom. When God reigns everything is turned on its
head. To enter God's kingdom and to promote it, the disciples must also turn themselves and their
habitual ways of thinking upside down.
To bring home to his disciples what living in accord with the kingdom of God involves, Jesus draws their
attention to a little child who had been near. In that time the child is not representing innocence or innate
goodness. Rather the child was insignificant. Children lacked any legal status and depended on others
for everything. They lacked any personal dignity or authority. Childhood was humanity at its most
vulnerable. Children possessed nothing in their own right and had nothing to offer others.
There is then, nothing in it for the disciples when it comes to helping a little child such as the one before
them. To help the child is simply to perform an act of generosity and kindness to someone who is
insignificant. And yet this act of kindness is in itself of great significance. In welcoming the child, one is
welcoming Jesus and God.
We can see in this instance how Jesus turns the world's usual criteria upside down. Those without status
in the present society are honoured members of God's kingdom. In that kingdom, when the lowly and
unhonoured are welcomed, God is truly honoured, and Jesus himself is being welcomed. To seek God
and to serve the coming of his kingdom places us in the company of those who have no status or power
in the world.
This gospel conveys profound meanings regarding discipleship. It is not about being the leader or having
status. Being a disciple is being a servant and taking the last place. It is welcoming all, not just the most
important. To embrace with love and care the little ones of the world, is in fact to be welcoming God.
Jan Grajczonek
© Redemptorists 2009
**********************************************
Embracing Discipleship
As his public ministry in Galilee comes to a close, Jesus for a second time predicts his death and
resurrection to his disciples. He seems keen to be alone with them. He addresses them exclusively at a
time when they cannot be distracted by the demands of the crowds.
However, once more, his disciples are still unable to fully comprehend what he is trying to tell them.
They are even afraid to question him further. They are not ready to hear what he might say in terms of
what being his disciple, his true follower, might mean.
Jesus and the band of the disciples move further as they journey to Capernaum. Jesus, having noticed
that an argument had broken out, asks what it was all about. Once more, they remain silent –ashamed to
admit that they were arguing on the question of status: who has the greatest position amongst them?
Jesus takes the opportunity to instruct them further on what being a disciple entails. It is not about
occupying a position of honour, but about forgetting oneself in the service of others. To be a disciple
means a readiness to take the last place, and to be the servant of all.
The kingdom of God is not like some worldly kingdom. When God reigns everything is turned on its
head. To enter God's kingdom and to promote it, the disciples must also turn themselves and their
habitual ways of thinking upside down.
To bring home to his disciples what living in accord with the kingdom of God involves, Jesus draws their
attention to a little child who had been near. In that time the child is not representing innocence or innate
goodness. Rather the child was insignificant. Children lacked any legal status and depended on others
for everything. They lacked any personal dignity or authority. Childhood was humanity at its most
vulnerable. Children possessed nothing in their own right and had nothing to offer others.
There is then, nothing in it for the disciples when it comes to helping a little child such as the one before
them. To help the child is simply to perform an act of generosity and kindness to someone who is
insignificant. And yet this act of kindness is in itself of great significance. In welcoming the child, one is
welcoming Jesus and God.
We can see in this instance how Jesus turns the world's usual criteria upside down. Those without status
in the present society are honoured members of God's kingdom. In that kingdom, when the lowly and
unhonoured are welcomed, God is truly honoured, and Jesus himself is being welcomed. To seek God
and to serve the coming of his kingdom places us in the company of those who have no status or power
in the world.
This gospel conveys profound meanings regarding discipleship. It is not about being the leader or having
status. Being a disciple is being a servant and taking the last place. It is welcoming all, not just the most
important. To embrace with love and care the little ones of the world, is in fact to be welcoming God.
Jan Grajczonek
© Redemptorists 2009
**********************************************
