Daily Gospel Reflection
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September 19, 2021
Jesus and his disciples left from there and began a journey through Galilee,
but he did not wish anyone to know about it.
He was teaching his disciples and telling them,
“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.
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.
Then he sat down, called the Twelve, and said to them,
“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 the 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.”
In his book The Road to Character, David Brooks draws a distinction between resume virtues and eulogy virtues: “The resume virtues are the ones you list on your resume, the skills that…contribute to external success. The eulogy virtues…get talked about at your funeral…whether you are kind, brave, honest, or faithful.”
While walking around Galilee with Jesus, I imagine the disciples discussing their resume virtues with each other. Who is the greatest disciple? Who has the best resume to be accompanying Jesus? Later in Mark’s Gospel, James and John are even more explicit about their ambition to be the greatest, saying to Jesus, “Grant that in your glory we may sit one at your right and the other at your left.” (Mk 10:37)
This focus on resume virtues is probably familiar to many of us. At work, when introducing myself to a new client or colleague, it is second nature to talk about my experience or tenure, trying to appear competent and credible. Social media, too, often encourages us to curate a resume of our best selves for others to see.
However, Jesus challenges the disciples and us to worry less about our resumes and more about the eulogy virtues. For Jesus, the sign of true greatness is to be “the last of all and the servant of all.” When our eulogies are read, whatever greatness we achieved in this world will be insignificant compared to how we served others.
Today, I pray for the grace to let go of my ego and the desire to impress others with a great resume. May we each become humble like a child and act as a servant to all.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, through sin we curve inward upon ourselves, selfishly desiring to be served and honored by others. Open our hearts in humility to receive the gift of the cross and so give ourselves away in service to others for love of Christ. Amen.
Saint of the Day
St. Januarius was a bishop who gave his life with his friends during a Christian persecution in the Roman empire. He is a best known for a recurring miracle that involves his relics.
Two deacons and a layman were imprisoned after confessing their Christian faith. Januarius was good friends with one of the deacons, and he visited his friend in prison. Guards noticed, and he was arrested, along with another deacon and a layperson.
Januarius and his companions were all beaten, and made to wear iron chains and march in front of the governor’s chariot. They were thrown into jail with the friends Januarius had originally visited.
The group of Christians were condemned to die by being thrown into an arena with wild beasts, but when this was carried out, the beasts could not be enticed to attack. They were sentenced to beheading instead.
This account of Januarius and his companions comes down to us from tradition, and it is difficult to know if it can be trusted. Best guesses indicate he died sometime around 305; the saint seems to have been honored from the fifth century and after.
There is a unique veneration of Januarius’ relics in Naples, where he was bishop. A vial of the saint’s dried blood stands in a reliquary in a church dedicated to him. Several times a year, on dates that correspond to events in the saint’s life and death, people observe the blood in that vial to liquefy, sometimes coming to froth and increase in volume. It is a miracle that has been examined carefully and no explanation has been found. In 2015, the blood liquified when Pope Francis made a visit, which was rare because it occurred outside of one of these special feast days.
Relics of St. Januarius rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica.
St. Januarius, you are the martyr with miraculous relics who died for your friends and your faith, pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Januarius is in the public domain. Last accessed April 2, 2025 on Wikimedia Commons.
