Bible
Study: Deuteronomy 31:1-8. / Matthew 18:1-14.
What does
it mean to be great? Do you know a great person? In your opinion, how would you
describe the greatest person you have ever met? Jesus was gradually approaching
the end of his public ministry, a discussion soon arose among his disciples as
to who was the greatest in the kingdom of God. In similar Gospel narratives, it
is reported that they were arguing about who was the greatest among them. And in
both cases, they were surprised or rather disappointed by the response of
Jesus. He does not mention any particular name or person but instead proffers a
new definition of greatness.
Whereas in
the eyes of the world, one is great based on how much power and control he or
she is able to exercise over others or how much wealth he or she has, Jesus
provides a totally different pedestal for judging greatness: “Whoever humbles
himself like this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”
There is
something in every human being called the “ego.” It is that aspect of your
being that makes you have a strong desire to assert yourself over others, from
the compulsive desire to win in an argument for instance up to the feeling of
being better than others in one way or another, the ego is very fragile and
sees itself always under threat so it puts up a lot of defensiveness just to
survive. It is the source of pride and other compulsive behaviours such as the
power tussles that we see all around us.
If you
want to see the ego at work, go to any busy street or market place, watch how
people easily get on each other’s nerves and see how they shout and exchange
words, see how drivers insult each other on the road over little scratches here
and there or who has the right of way. At times, it even leads to shameless
fighting in public.
The end of
all of such power tussles as E. Tolle put it is the realisation that “power
over others is weakness disguised as strength.” True power is the ability to
control one’s ego. He is truly powerful who is able to control himself or
herself.
Humility is
not weakness, it is wisdom.
And in the
eyes of God, only a humble person is great. Mastering one’s ego is not an easy
task but it is possible and a strong determination to win in this battle is key
to success.
Today, we
celebrate the memorial of St. Clare. All her life, she remained a virgin for
the sake of Christ. Here is a woman who was able to conquer herself and offered
that which was must precious to her as a sacrifice for God. As early as the age
of 18, she left her father’s house and joined St. Francis of Assisi and his
companions, she left her wealth and inheritance behind and she became a poor
sister. Within two weeks, her Sister, Agnes came to join her and together, they
lived a simple life of great poverty, austerity and complete seclusion from the
world, according to a Rule which Francis gave them. The nuns went barefoot,
slept on the ground, ate no meat and observed almost complete silence. The
greatest emphasis, of course, was on gospel poverty. They possessed no
property, even in common, subsisting on daily contributions.
Let us
pray:
Lord
Jesus, Moses instructed Joshua in today’s first reading to be strong and be of
good courage. Teach me Lord, to learn to exercise strength over my pride that I
may be great before you. Amen. St. Clare, Pray for us.
Good morning.
Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you.
No comments:
Post a Comment