Jesus challenges popular ideas of what it means to be “great”. Fr Richard reflects on today’s readings from Mass.
Readings for Tuesday of week 19 of ordinary time (memorial of St Clare) can be found here.
“Who is the greatest?” It’s a question asked today by the disciples, and it’s a question that’s been asked down the centuries. In the ancient world the greatest was the king with the biggest empire and the most riches. Nowadays it’s the businessperson who has made the most money, the social media influencer with the most followers, the pop star who has sold most records, even the church with the biggest congregation.
As ever, Jesus flips these notions of greatness on their head. He uses the example of a child to illustrate his conception of greatness. In his society children were not given much respect. They could not earn any money to support the family, so people were impatient for them to grow up. Yet Jesus sees their value just as they are. The parable of the lost sheep emphasises the point: God sees great worth in those who are often overlooked. Where might we find greatness in our society today?
In the reading from Ezekiel we have a dramatic image of the prophet eating the word of God, which is sweet to the taste. It is a reminder to all of us that merely hearing or reading the Scriptures is not enough. We must allow them to enter into us and transform us, so that we might view the world and its people – especially the overlooked – with the same love that God does.
Mass today is in St Mary’s at 6.30pm.
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