In today Gospel reading, we see the apostles arguing among themselves as to who among them is the greatest. There seems to be something within all of us that is of a competitive nature. Everybody wants to be better than the next guy. The common view of greatness does not include the characteristic of servanthood. Prevalent in our society is an attitude that to make it to the top, one must be willing to aggressively challenge and defeat all comers, that one must almost arrogantly be self-assertive; and if anyone gets in the way, they should be used as a stepping stone.
Drastically different is the picture of greatness that Jesus gives us. To be great as far as Jesus was concerned is to be a servant. To have other attitudes in opposition to this is to fail in authentic Christian living. To adopt a worldly view of greatness and success means that we will never be truly great in the eyes of God. Those who would be legends in their own time are never very important in God’s thinking.
In the gospel reading, Jesus takes the opportunity to teach his apostles something about true spiritual greatness, at least by Kingdom standards. In doing so, He reveals to them that the attitudes of pride and exclusivity have no place in the Christian. The path to greatness is not paved at the expense of others. In our society, and in Jewish culture as well, greatness was measured in how many served you, how many obeyed your command, how many catered to your needs. But Jesus said that if someone wants to be first, that person must become servant of all. What a revolutionary idea. It ran counter-culture, counter-natural to all their thinking. What a powerful paradox.
Notice that Jesus does not discourage ambition. Ambition in itself is not a negative thing. The desire to be first was not rebuked by Jesus, just defined. Ambition to be great is OK as long as it is not selfish ambition. If our ambition is for self-glory and self-gratification, then our ambition is outside of the will of God. But on the other hand, if we are seeking to be the best God can make us, if we are seeking first His Kingdom and righteousness, if we are seeking to be great in our service to Him, then we are seeking a worthy thing.
The paradox is that in order to be great, the first must willingly be last. True greatness is manifested in servanthood. It is not how many serve us, but how many we serve. To illustrate this, Jesus uses a child to drive home His point. Children, in this context, represent the poor, the needy, the downtrodden, the ordinary, just plain human beings. We are not to play favorites, but to receive everyone, the supposed great and the small, the rich man and the poor man, without playing favorites. Whether we are rich or poor is no consequence with God, and it should not be with us.
Furthermore, we should not play favorites based on what people can do for us. Some people cater to other people because they seek a favor. We should never do so. Rather, we should receive people because they are valuable to God, and every soul is valuable to God. Humble servanthood is an attitude that is essential to effective Christian living.