From The Bishop

“Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.” These words are taken from the Gospel for the 25th Sunday of Ordinary Time. Jesus makes this statement because his disciples had been arguing among themselves about who was the greatest. They failed to understand that Jesus had to suffer and die in order to redeem the world. Their focus on “greatness” indicated that they did not grasp the significant words of Jesus. He then uses a child to help them to understand. Jesus tells them they need to become “childlike” in order to avoid becoming “childish”. To have a mature faith you must be like a child. You must be totally open to God. What happens when we do not do this? In the Second Reading from James we find the following statement, “Beloved: Where there is envy and selfish ambition, there will also be disorder and wickedness of every kind.” At this moment in time we see this in our world and even in our Church. The Gospel challenges us to be humble servants who model the simple and trusting faith of a child.