In today’s gospel, the apostles are irritated at hearing James and John ask Jesus for a prominent place alongside him. It seemed that the brothers’ criteria for greatness was their status with Jesus or what people would think of them. Jesus uses this moment to teach us what greatness means to God, saying “Whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant.”
Jesus overturns the criteria of what truly matters. The value of a person does not depend on their role in life, their work, or how much money they have. God measures greatness and success differently: they are measured by service. Not on what someone has, but what someone gives. He’s telling us, “Do you want to be first? Do you want to be great?” Then go serve others.
Our faithfulness to God depends on our willingness to serve. The more we serve, the more we become aware of God’s presence, the better we feel, and the more like Jesus we become.
Each one of us has our own definition of success because it is entirely subjective and shaped by our personal experiences and values. When I was much younger, my measure of success was status and wealth, but thanks to God, that no longer holds water for me. We just need to remember that in God’s eyes, success is measured not by what someone has, but by what someone gives. It is never too late to live our lives this way.
