The Last Shall be First, And the First Shall Be Last

To be first in anything is usually desirable if it places us “at the front of the line”, or “at the top of the heap”. First place in a race, first in line for a doorbuster sale, or first place in your graduating class all provide a position that is advantageous. Being the first person to sign up for service hours at your child’s school, or being the first pick for jury duty, not so much. Jesus challenged our natural competetivness:

“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” (Mark 9:35-37).

Wishing to be first among the disciples clearly fell in the “desirable” column. When Jesus asked about their discussion, they were reduced to silence, and most likely embarrassed about their misplaced ambitions.

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 (Mark 9:33-34).

Jesus had just finished explaining his dying and rising, which must have resonated with the disciples on some level. Perhaps they were beginning to think in terms of who might lead after Jesus departed. The mere mention of His death may have sent them into a kind of shock.

“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 (Mark 9:31-32).

Jesus, undeniably the greatest man they had ever encountered, is now teaching that the responsibility of discipleship goes beyond learning and following. What would eventually come to be known as servant-leadership, is introduced in the following pericope from Luke’s Gospel:

A dispute also arose among them as to which one of them was to be regarded as the greatest. But he said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those in authority over them are called benefactors. But not so with you; rather the greatest among you must become like the youngest and the leader like one who serves. For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one at the table? But I am among you as one who serves” (Luke 22:24-27).

At Baptism, we are given a share in the threefold ministry of Christ: Priest, Prophet, and King. Each of these roles, at first blush, carries a degree of prestige, especially King. Upon closer examination, being a “servant to all” casts leadership in a different light. If we are to be followers of Christ, we must follow His example:

He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”Jesus answered, “You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.” Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” (John 13:6-9)

Jesus gave a model of service to the disciples by washing their feet and understood Peter’s reluctance to have his master perform the task of a servant. The paradoxical teachings of Jesus oftentimes turned conventional thinking on its head. A final quote from Luke’s Gospel illustrates the humility that is necessary for discipleship:

But when you are invited, go and sit down at the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher’; then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at the table with you (Luke 14:10).

Let us pray for the grace to follow Jesus as servant-leaders, according to the Spirit’s guidance, as expressed through Scripture, Tradition, and the teaching authority of the Church.