25th Sunday in Ordinary Time B.  September 24 2006.  Our Lady of Grace 7:30, 11:30, 6PM.  Wisdom 2:12, 17-20.  James 3: 16-43.  Mark 9: 30-37.

 

Last May a professional guide was leading two mountain climbers up the slope of Mt. Everest, the tallest mountain in the world. They were just two hours from the peak of the 29,000 foot mountain when they came upon an Australian man who had been part of a previous group attempting to climb the mountain.  The Australian was barely alive.  He suffered from lack of oxygen and extreme cold. He had survived the night without gloves or a jacket or a sleeping bag.  He was barely conscious.  His climbing group had abandoned him there to save their own lives.  When the new group of climbers arrived they gave him bottled oxygen, and carefully warmed his nearly frozen body.  Because the man was so gravely sick they decided to bring him down the mountain even when that meant not reaching the summit of Mt. Everest themselves.  Others climbing the mountain refused to help. Later the group of climbers said that they had no regrets.  They had no doubt that saving a person’s life was more important than climbing the tallest mountain in the world.  In their minds getting to the top was not as important as serving someone in need.

 

Jesus said to his followers, “What were you arguing about on the way?”   They remained silent because they had been discussing who was the greatest among them.  Then Jesus sat down and he called his chosen Twelve disciples and said, “Now hear this – if anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.”  Then Jesus took a child and placed it in their midst.  Jesus said, “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.”

 

Last year a member of our parish was given the Outstanding Businessman of the Year Award by the Twin Cities Business community.  I went to the award ceremony honoring this outstanding leader, not only or even primarily because his company is on the top of the heap nationally and internationally, but because of the way that he leads a very diverse and complex business operation.  In 2005 this parishioner received the Person of the Year Award in New York City for outstanding leadership in promoting and deepening the relationship between the United States and Brazil.  I also know him for his rather new work in Ghana.   This is part of what he said in his acceptance speech for the international award: 

 

“I wish to recognize my wife.  Whenever I am honored, my wife is honored as well because we have been partners for 38 years and all that I have been able to accomplish has truly been a shared result thanks to her love, support, and wise counsel.”

 

“Extraordinary people can change lives and change the path of nations.  In my case, that person was a high school math teacher, Ms. Campbell.  She used a long yardstick to “tap” students on the head in those days to get their attention. One particular day when I was not well prepared, I received a “tap” on the head, and Ms. Campbell asked me to come see her after school.  She told me that I was wasting my abilities and that she was willing to help me if I would commit to coming in after school to work privately with her.   

“So my path turned in an unexpected direction, due to her vision for me.  She taught me how to be prepared and execute.  I learned what level of effort was required to succeed in this world and developed a self-confidence that I could achieve things I previously never thought possible.”    (In other words, teachers who truly serve there students change not only their students, they also change the world.). 

 

He went on: “One of the primary reasons why our company has built a successful business in Brazil, and one that bonds our employees with the company and the community, is our belief in corporate social responsibility.  We have developed a number of highly-effective programs to make a difference in the communities where we operate.”  Among them are a literacy program for children, a homestead agriculture and food safety program and an environmental program to clean up several rivers. 

 

He concluded his acceptance speech by saying: “The highest reward for man’s toil is not what he gets for it but what he becomes by it.”

 

It is very difficult to be at the top of the mountain and yet remain humble and the servant of all.  We live in a culture in which business leaders have destroyed companies and brought them to ruin for their own personal profit, while life long employees were left without pension benefits and the public was defrauded of service.  We also live in a culture where many business leaders take their jobs very seriously as a religious trust before God and a sacred responsibility to their employees and to the people that their business serves.  The temptations to personal power and excessive wealth are many.  There are also many in our midst who take Jesus very seriously and model their lives on his message.  If the message of Jesus doesn’t change the way that we live as families, the way that we lead and do business, and the cultural and political life of our land, then we are not yet fully in communion with Jesus Christ. Jesus said, “The greatest among you shall be the last of all and the servant of all.”    For this message about the way to true greatness and profound happiness we give God thanks and praise.