LIVE AS CHRISTIAN PEOPLE
Jesus tells us that He "did not come to be served, but to serve," for "He emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant" (Mt 20:28; Phil 2:7a)... Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of God?
Jesus made a dramatic gesture by placing a child next to Himself to show His disciples who really is the greatest in the Kingdom of God. What can a little child possibly teach us about greatness? Jesus elevated a little child in the presence of the disciples by placing the child in a privileged position of honor - at His side. Jesus reads their hearts and educates them about God's idea of greatness. After He summons the child, His message is this: "Whoever receives this child in My name receives Me, and whoever receives Me receives the One who sent Me" (Lk 9:48a). Jesus nails down the principle by saying that the one in our midst who seems to be the least important, least valuable, least successful, just might be the greatest in God's view (cf. Lk 9:48b).
Today, the Church honors St. Jerome, whose greatest delight was found in studying the Scriptures. He said that "to be ignorant of the Scriptures is to not know Christ." His convictions and his enthusiasm for Christian virtue are convincing. "To be a Christian is the great thing, not merely to seem one. And somehow or other those please the world most who please Christ least." After his conversion to Christianity, Tertullian wrote: "Christians are made, not born." Then as Christians, we bring Christ into the ordinary events of our daily lives.
Jesus, Himself, is our Model. He tells us that He "did not come to be served, but to serve," for "He emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant" (Mt 20:28; Phil 2:7a). And if we want to be filled with God's life, then we need to empty ourselves of everything that stands in our way. In the Responsorial Psalm we acclaim, "The children of Your servants shall abide, and their posterity shall continue in Your presence" (Ps 102:29). Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of God? Is it the wealthiest; the strongest; or the most loving and faithful? Let us pray that the example of our own lives will be a witness of a life lived for serving God and others.
We come to learn to live as Christian people!