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Jesus was a great teacher. In
today’s gospel he is teaching his disciples about how the Son of Man had
to suffer, die, and rise. They had no idea what he was talking
about and furthermore, they did not enjoy the topic. After they reached
their destination, Jesus gave them a quiz. “What were you arguing about
on the way?” They fell silent because they had been discussing who was
the greatest among them. They had paid no attention whatsoever to the
Lord’s teaching.
We should not blame the disciples. No one likes to talk about death. It
is one of those topics that can quiet a whole room. But Jesus knew
it was critical for his disciples to confront the reality of his
impending suffering and death, just as it is important for all of us to
accept these events in our own lives. You see, ultimately, they may be
the most important issues in our lives.
We adults think we are very sophisticated. Unfortunately we don’t
realize the games we play with ourselves. We think that if we don’t talk
about unpleasant things like suffering or death, they won’t happen to
us. Jesus cuts through all of the game playing and puts a little
child in their midst. This is the most important one in the kingdom of
God, he says. Little children accept life, all of life, as it comes.
They play games and they know they are playing. They know when they need
to be serious and listen. There is not much a little child is afraid to
discuss.
Today the Lord invites us to stop pretending that we are so grown up,
and to confront the real issues in our lives. He reminds us that we do
not have to be afraid of suffering and death because he is there through
it all with us. The only thing we have to fear is being so sophisticated
that we think we can handle life without the Lord.
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