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March 2008 Issue
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Articles
Who is great among us? Listen to Jesus
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its earliest days as the community of Christ, the Catholic
Church has kept in its public memory fellow members
who were especially devoted to the way of Jesus. We
call them "the saints." We realize that title belongs
to all who are baptized into Christ and who form his
family, but we tend to reserve the title to those who
are singled out as truly extraordinary in their goodness
and faithfulness of life. They seem especially heroic
in their following of Christ. In the early centuries
of our history as Christ's people, the ones held in
greatest veneration were Mary, the mother of Jesus,
and the apostles. They were treasured as the great ones
of the Lord. Though the church has revered those chosen
companions and partners of Jesus, the Gospels are unblinking
in describing the failings and weaknesses of the Twelve. |
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In fact, the vainglory and jealousy among
them led them to an unwanted confrontation with Jesus. As
he saw them bickering among themselves, he challenged them
to tell him what the argument was all about. It was all about
their own dreams of glory and what privileges and rewards
they would be getting from their partnership with Jesus. That's
when Jesus gave his unforgettable teaching about what constitutes
being "the greatest" in his estimation. It wasn't the acclaim
of others. It wasn't wealth or power or even the advantage
of proximity to him by blood or association. It wasn't any
spectacular deed or any office one would hold even in his
name.
"It shall not be so among you," Jesus said.
"Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your
servant." With this teaching, Jesus threw open the door for
a vast number of candidates of every generation for "greatness"
in his kingdom. We have met many of them ourselves in our
own lifetimes. Unheralded, usually unnoticed by the public
at large, these great ones of the Lord, of every age and walk
of life, have served him and others… while healthy or sick,
while wealthy or poor, while energized or utterly spent. They
are the blessed ones of God.
Msgr. Gaspar F. Ancona is recently retired.
He is the author of Where the Star Came to Rest, a history
of the Diocese of Grand Rapids.
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