Gospel
Jesus and his disciples left from there and began a journey through Galilee,
but he did not wish anyone to know about it.
He was teaching his disciples and telling them,
“The Son of Man is to be handed over to men
and they will kill him,
and three days after his death the Son of Man will rise.”
But they did not understand the saying,
and they were afraid to question him.
They came to Capernaum and, once inside the house,
he began to ask them,
“What were you arguing about on the way?”
But they remained silent.
They had been discussing among themselves on the way
who was the greatest.
Then he sat down, called the Twelve, and said to them,
“If anyone wishes to be first,
he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.”
Taking a child, he placed it in their midst,
and putting his arms around it, he said to them,
“Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me;
and whoever receives me,
receives not me but the One who sent me.”
The Gospel of the Lord! Praise be to you Lord Jesus Christ!
The last few verses from this gospel really speak to me: “If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.” Taking a child, he placed it in their midst, and putting his arms around it, he said to them, “Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but the One who sent me.
So many times we don’t think of being the servant to follow Christ; yet Christ was the Servant of all! St. Mother Theresa was a wonderful servant and in being a servant saw Christ in all she served. We had Our Lady of Sorrows this past Wednesday. Again a great example of serving! When we see ourselves as called to serve; our family, our friends, our co workers and others, we bring Christ to them.
And of course the verse about receiving a child…We live in a time when children are not received. I am always proud of those who do receive a child, theirs or someone else’s and treasures him or her. There are people out there who do receive children in a variety of ways, and there are those who help in various ways.
We should pray for those who receive children in various ways, and for those who don’t receive children, that one day they will in some way.
Some pictures from our past week: The Bob Kerry Bridge; Lewis and Clark monument; President Gerald Ford’s birthplace. The last 4 pictures are from August; a visit to Fort Cody during a quick trip to North Platte. August 15 found someone very proud to receive Jesus in Holy Communion for the 1st time!
