Gospel Reading for the 25th Sunday Ordinary Time
On the way to Jerusalem, Jesus again predicts his passion, death, and resurrection. But the disciples do not get it and avoid asking him about it. And they demonstrate just how much they do not get the cross, letting go of self until only God is left, by arguing amongst themselves about who the greatest is. I can imagine Jesus felt quite exasperated at this point, but the text betrays no upsetting reactions on Jesus’ part. Rather, he calls them together and says, “If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all” (Mark 9:35).
The desire for greatness gets in the way of spiritual deepening. One way this desire manifests in a life of trying to follow Jesus is by confusing two ways of being: the hero and the saint. Hero or saint? Heroes are bombastic, obvious when it comes to drumming up the courage to do what needs to be done to defend and protect, to fight and quash evil. But the saint? The holy one, according to Jesus’ own definition: lowly, poor, and humble. They are virtually unknown; we do not even notice them. They are hidden, defenseless and powerless.
Not the hero: she or he (let’s face it, far too often “he”) appears ready to battle – dare we say eager to fight? – and so display their power. “Good guys with guns” are not saints for saints are defenseless, trusting only in Love. The hero needs weapons, even if it’s only one’s fists.
The saint holds no weapons, following the slaughtered Lamb. Neither does the saint need high rhetoric or favorable government policy imposed on others. The person living the holiness of the Gospels does not force anything on anyone. Not so the hero who likely pushes some brand of control over others, even in the name of the common good. Saints see through opinions, ideologies, privilege and seek peace. Heroes do not, they are blunt instruments strengthening, at least in our culture, the status quo: that economic, social, racial, and patriarchal injustice that always benefits the rich. By their poverty saints topple empires because they rely not on themselves – heroes rely on themselves – but on God alone. We do not need heroes. We need saints.
The mystics were not heroes. We can think of St. Francis of Assisi who, though we may think he is a hero of the faith, actually lost everything by the end of his life. The Franciscans, the order of brothers he created, kicked him out of leadership! These friars did not appreciate the spiritual genius of Francis. They did not want Gospel poverty and letting go but desired to be great by becoming priests at the disposal of the hierarchy and by getting educated. Theye even wanted to move into stone houses!
Who wants to be last? Francis of Assisi did. But we, like many of Francis’ own friars, rarely do. We prefer to be the hero, at least of our own story. And this keeps us egocentric, which is the ultimate problem with wanting to be a hero. But the saint lets go of self and its need for importance. The saint is not a sinless person but simply the person who seeks God above all else.
The holy person wants God more than a good name, more than the recognition and adulation of others. Wanting to be important, after all, is another name for craving the approval of others. Now, rather than attempting to stand out in greatness or importance, perhaps appearing in our lives as a desire for advancement or being near power, the holy person rejoices in being last! The saint does not care what others think but seeks to enjoy God.
Jesus wants his disciples to be little and not great, last and not first. He invites the disciples and us as well to lose all desire for recognition, affirmation by others, and even a good name. Instead of making a name for oneself, he invites his disciples to lose everything that puffs up the ego and asserts the self so that they can lose themselves in God.