The first must be last

Then they came to Capernaum; and when he was in the house he asked them, "What were you arguing about on the way?" But they were silent, for on the way they had argued with one another who was the greatest. He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, "Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all." Then he took a little child and put it among them; and taking it in his arms, he said to them, "Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me." (Mark 9: 33-37)

To me, this is a powerful lesson on the centrality of humility and gentleness. We followers of Jesus must be HUMBLE SERVANTS. Jesus saw himself as a servant, not as a king or a conqueror. In my opinion, the power and credibility of Jesus' teachings is derived from the teacher's humility, his desire to be last rather than first, his wish to treat others (particularly the poor, disabled and outcasts of society) as kings. It is Jesus' selflessness, his lack of ego that is transformative.

The lesson on kindness and gentleness to children is an obvious one. Jesus always had a special place in his heart for children. To see so many children dying needlessly or suffering from being ignored, from abused, from hunger, from disease, from a lack of caring and love would be a particular affront to him.

One of my favorite quotes is one from Nelson Mandela. It goes, "There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children."

Marco