Live As Christian People
Who is the greatest? The wealthiest? The strongest? Or the most loving
and faithful?
Jesus made a
dramatic gesture by placing a child next to Himself to show His disciples who
really is the greatest in the Kingdom of God. What can a little child possibly
teach us about greatness? Jesus elevated a little child in the presence of the
disciples by placing the child in a privileged position of honor at His right
side. Jesus reads the hearts and educates them about God's idea of greatness.
And when Jesus Christ summons the young the message is, "Treat the little
ones kindly and with honor, and you will please Me and My Father who sent
me." Jesus nails down the principle, by saying that the one in our midst
who seems to be the least important, least valuable, least successful, just
might be the greatest in God's view.
Today the Church
honors Saint Lawrence Ruiz and Companions. Christians are made not born. We as
Christians are called to bring Christ into our ordinary things in daily living.
This group of martyrs, including both Europeans and Asians, in various time and
circumstances spread the Christian faith in the Philippine Islands, Formosa,
and Japan, thus showing the universality of the Christian religion. Through the
example of their lives and their deaths these dauntless missionaries also sowed
the seed for the future of the church. In today's Gospel of Luke it is about
the "little way", self-giving in matters of ordinary, daily life. We
can think about some of these opportunities in our own life - keeping a smile
and a friendly word for others who really have it so difficult; taking the less
elegant tasks around the house or work place; being patient with others;
restraining our tongue when we know so well that we have the only right answer;
and even maybe being available when someone needs a hug today. And the list
goes on and on!
Jesus, Himself, is
our model. He came not to be served, but to serve. Jesus also "emptied
Himself and took the form of a servant." And if we want to be filled with
God's life, then we need to empty ourselves of everything which stands in our
way.
In the Responsorial
Psalm we acclaim: The children of your servants shall abide, and their
posterity shall continue in Your presence, O God.
Who is the
greatest? The wealthiest? The strongest? Or the most loving and faithful?
Our life becomes
our "little way," a way of self-giving and a way of sharing the gifts
that have been given to us!
We come to learn to
live as a Christian people.