Competition or Consolation?

​A Reflection on the Gospel ​for Sunday, September 22nd, 2024:
Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

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Mark
9.30-37

After leaving the mountain Jesus and his disciples went on from there and passed through Galilee. He did not want anyone to know it; for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of Man is to be betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill him, and three days after being killed, he will rise again.” But they did not understand what he was saying and were afraid to ask him.

Then they came to Capernaum; and when he was in the house Jesus asked them, “What were you arguing about on the way?” But they were silent, for on the way they had argued with one another who was the greatest.

Jesus sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.”

Then he took a little child and put it among them; and taking it in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.”

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

I imagine myself among the disciples during these days of miracles and teaching and encounter with Jesus. I feel the bewilderment, the amazement at what is happening around me, fresh from the experience of the transfiguration and the healing of the boy with the unclean spirit. I like to think that, in light of all this, let alone just being in the actual presence of Jesus, I wouldn’t have been so prideful and easily distracted to have argued about my relative greatness among the group. I mean, He told them He was going to be betrayed, to die and to rise again, and even though they obviously didn’t understand what He meant, wasn’t this enough to occupy them?

It shows just how quickly our attention returns to the world, even in the wake of such extraordinary events. I have had mountaintop experiences like this in my life of faith – confirmations, consolations, answered prayers, healing. I know that the Kingdom of God and the desire for holiness are the most important things, and yet I remain tempted to consider my “greatness” and to compare myself to others. It is a dangerous endeavour; I once heard Brené Brown say, “Don’t walk through the world looking for evidence that you don’t belong, because you will always find it. Don’t walk through the world looking for evidence that you’re not enough, because you’ll always find it.” 

Then, off I go – even after the most profound experiences of knowing my worth, feeling my belovedness, understanding that my perspective is uniquely mine – not trusting that what I have to offer is enough. I’m so thankful that the disciples were real people who stumbled too!

Then, most beautifully, Jesus turns our attention to children, who are self-aware but not self-conscious; who see the world with new and unbiased eyes. They have a lot to teach us about purity of spirit. Of course, they must also be taught (as should we be open to learning), but their motivations are not inherently duplicitous or competitive. 

As I’m sure the disciples were when Jesus asked them “What were you arguing about on the way?”, I am convicted to focus on my own personal consolations to strengthen my faith and calling, as opposed to falling prey to vain competition with others. I pray that we may all be blessed by the richness of this Gospel passage and be inspired to trade our desire for worldly greatness for a sincere desire for holiness.




Lindsay Elford

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