25th Sunday in OT 2018 - Me-Monsters vs. Humble Servants

“Beware of the Me-Monster”. This is advice from one of my favorite comedians, Brian Regan, in one of his classic stand-up comedy acts. “Beware the Me-Monster.” In this act, Regan tells a story of his experience at a dinner party where one of the guests dominated the entire meal talking about himself. When Brian Regan began to tell a story about a time when he had two wisdom teeth pulled at the dentist, this Me-Monster was quick to tell everyone, “yeah, well I had four wisdom teeth pulled, and they were impacted.” The "Me-Monster" always has to assert his or her supposed superiority.

The “Me-Monster” can be found everywhere, attempting to prove that they are better, smarter, richer, superior than everyone else. You’ll often see young kids exhibiting this behavior on the play ground, “well, my dad makes more money than your dad”, “my dad is stronger than your dad”. Adults maintain this juvenile behavior by showing off their wealth, insisting on buying the nicer car, the bigger tv. The internet has become a platform for “Me-Monsters” to grasp at superiority by signaling to others that they are smarter, more politically insightful, more compassionate toward victims of natural disasters, more protective of the environment.

In the Gospel today, the disciples were acting like a bunch of “Me-Monsters”. While returning from Caeserea Philipi, the disciples begin arguing about who is the greatest. Imagine, Andrew, perhaps saying, “Yeah, well, I’m the greatest because I saw Jesus first.” Peter saying, “Yeah, well, I’m the greatest, because I figured out that he is the Messiah.” James and John saying, “Yeah, well, we’re the greatest, because we gave up a lucrative fishing business to follow him.” Or Matthew saying, “Yeah, well I gave up more wealth than that, I was a tax collector.” Judas, butting in, putting Matthew down for obtaining his wealth by extorting his fellow Jews, while at the same time stealing money from the money purse. “I’m the greatest, I’m the holiest, the Lord likes me best.”  What a bunch of “Me-Monsters”.

“Me-monsters” can be found in virtually every corner of society, and sadly, in the Church as well. History is filled with tyrants who brought ruin to their nations because of their ambition, friendships and families destroyed out of jealousy, men and women who would lie, cheat, and steal to get ahead or for fifteen minutes of fame. This behavior is truly monstrous for it wrecks lives and wrecks the peace and unity in which we were made to live.

St. James, writing as bishop of Jerusalem after the Lord’s ascension, warned his flock about the dangers of ambition and jealousy. “Where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every foul practice.” James knew what he was talking about, after all, he was there when the Lord corrected the apostles, as we heard in the Gospel today.

The Lord corrected the ambitious apostles by teaching them, “If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.” In the world, greatness is determined by wealth, fame, power, athletic prowess, physical beauty. But in the eyes of God, greatness is determined through service, self-sacrificial service. One way of “bewaring of becoming Me-monsters” is to making frequent examinations of conscience, and frequent confessions, examining if and how jealousy, ambition, and pride affect our choices, behaviors and attitudes. Do I insist on control my spouse? Do I insist on dominating conversations. Is proving I am right more important than patience? Do I insist on being served rather than serving others.

I don’t think that it is a coincidence that St. Mark places this little exchange immediately after the Lord’s second passion prediction. Because it will be in His Passion, while hanging on the cross, that Jesus teaches the ultimate lesson in greatness, it is on the cross that He shows Himself to be the greatest, because there he performs the greatest act of self-sacrificial service that there ever was and will ever be. Jesus, the suffering servant of the Father, accomplishes our redemption, by being wounded for our transgressions. In the eyes of the world he is despised and rejected, he is obnoxious the world, as we heard in our first reading today. But, through embrace of the cross, he is the true victor, his be the glory and honor and power forever and ever. 

This lesson, that true worth is found in the embrace of the cross, was not immediately grasped by the apostles. After all, when it came time to follow the master to the cross, they abandoned Him, they ran away, they denied Him.

We must beware of
becoming the me-monster, of seeking to become great in the eyes of the world. But we must also be patient and set good example for the me-monsters around us. For, each one of the apostles, save Judas, who ran away from the cross the first time, each one of them, eventually faced their fear, faced their crosses. Each one went on to suffer greatly for the Gospel. Peter and Andrew were crucified, Matthew was impaled with spears and beheaded, Bartholomew was flayed alive, and so on. And they did so, that the Lord’s Gospel might be known, that the invitation to eternal life through belief and imitation of the Lord Jesus may be offered to all. If they can have a change of heart, so can we, and so can the me-monsters around us.

This week, may we have the grace to really examine our lives, and to root out with God’s help all of those attitudes and ideas in our lives that are not in conformity with the Gospel: the constant desire to be praised, to be chosen, to be preferred by others, the fear of being ridiculed for the sake of the truth. And may we have the grace to pour ourselves out in self-sacrificial service in imitation of Our Lord for the glory of God and salvation of souls.