Wisdom 2:12,17-20   James 3:16-4:3    Mark 9:30-37

The first shall be last and the last shall be first. As we can see the priorities of our Lord can be different from human priorities. The disciples who made a commitment to follow Jesus don’t fully grasp the importance of what they are called to do. It is easy to make commitments and decisions but the proof of them come to being able to carry them out and making the sacrifices.

Many people can make decisions without understanding how it will affect the lives of others. Jesus knew this when He sat them down to talk about what real leadership and authority is all about. It is mostly all about serving the people. We find that last week and this week there is a strong contrast to everything we have seen Jesus do so far.

From the earliest part of His ministry He was a center of action healing the sick, bringing the deceased back to life, calming storms, and multiplying bread. He always took the lead, but as He got close to the cross He remained quiet, humble and affirmable. All along Jesus was preparing us for this gift. At every Mass Jesus is handed over to us again and again. He has placed in our hands God’s gift of salvation. None of us are worthy of this gift and that is why Jesus talked so much of the importance of humility. Let’s think of this as we serve our neighbor.