Happy Thursday everyone! Today is the Memorial of the Holy Guardian Angels, make sure to thank your Guardian Angel today!
The disciples approached Jesus and said,
“Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?”
He called a child over, placed it in their midst, and said,
“Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children,
you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven.
Whoever humbles himself like this child
is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.
And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me.
“See that you do not despise one of these little ones,
for I say to you that their angels in heaven
always look upon the face of my heavenly Father.”
Matthew 18:1-5,10
“Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?” This is a very human way of thinking. We all want to be the best. No one sets out to perform a task with the goal of doing worse than anyone before them. It’s natural for us to aspire to greatness. When we think of saints like John Paul II, Teresa of Calcutta, or Thomas Aquinas, we consider them “great” saints, but Jesus turns this thinking on its head, as He often does. The mindset should not be to strive for “greatness” but to be the lowest, the meekest, a servant. Jesus doesn’t call us to seek the opposite of greatness to be trampled on, looked down upon, or forgotten. He calls us to this “lowly” state to purify us.
Whenever we think of ourselves as the “greatest,” we risk falling into the sin of pride. This is the sin Jesus challenges us to avoid. Pride is the sin to which humans are most susceptible. It was pride that caused Adam to fall in the garden: “Eat this fruit, and you’ll be like God.” It was man’s desire to be like God, to reject his place in the order of creation, that led to the broken state we find ourselves in. In today’s Gospel, the New Adam, Jesus, shows us that the opposite of Adam’s pride is the virtue of humility. Jesus is the perfect example of the humility that Adam lacked in the garden. Adam was made from dust, literally from nothing, yet still desired more. The thought of being like God intrigued him; he wanted to be the greatest. In contrast, the New Adam, Jesus, had everything. He was not created; He is consubstantial with the Father. Through Him, creation flows, yet in the New Adam, we see no desire for pride—only a desire for humility. Jesus gave up His lofty status and became like a child, quite literally a human child, and not just any child, but a poor one. As St. Paul says, “He did not consider equality with God something to be grasped.” This is the opposite mindset of Adam in the garden. Today’s Gospel challenges us to avoid pride in our lives and to seek humility, like a child. It’s a lofty challenge, but with the help of God’s grace, we must meet it to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.