It cannot be that way among you!

 

To help us understand today’s Scripture, I want to begin with a story from the world of sports. It’s a story about the Olympics that were held in Barcelona in 1992. It was near the end of the men’s four-hundred-meter race when Derrick Redmond of Great Britain suddenly crashed to the track, clutching his right hamstring. Sprawled on the track, Redmond was writhing in pain as the other runners passed him. Inside himself he knew that he had to get up—get up and finish the race. He struggled to his feet and began hopping awkwardly, dragging his injured leg, grimacing in pain.

 

Television viewers then saw, from the corner of their TV screens, an older man dash past security officials onto the track, running after Redmond. The man attempted to put his arms around the runner, but Redmond pushed him away. But the man continued along with Redmond until the excruciating pain overcame the runner and he slumped into the older man’s arms. The older man helped the runner up. That man was identified as Redmond’s father, Jim. Father and son, arm in arm, continued down the track with the echoing applause supporting them to the finish line. Five minutes later, they crossed the finish line, four minutes and sixteen seconds after the gold medal winner.

 

When questioned by reporters, the elder Redmond told the gathered press, “I’m more proud of my son than if he had won the race.”

 

Reporters pointed out that the Redmond’s, father and son, exemplified the Olympic spirit, which according to the founder, Baron de Coubertin in 1896 was: “The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win, but to take part; just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph, but the struggle.”

 

I suppose that our competitiveness, our ardent desire to win, starts early in life. I remember times when a good friend would shout, “I’ll race you to that tree,” and off we’d go, each mustering all our energy to be the winner. And if we lost, we’d tend to say, “I’ll get you next time!”

 

That appears to be the motivation for James and John, who want to get to the top, winning the plum positions of being Jesus’ left and right hand men—helping to run the organization from the top. And then we have the reaction of the other ten Apostles, who become “indignant” at the brash chutzpa of James and John. Perhaps they, too, wanted to get to the top, and perhaps they were mad that James and John would so deeply want to leave the rest of them in the dust of defeat.

 

We obviously see the motivation to win in sports. Competition can be a good thing, fun to watch, but competition, with huge amounts of money involved at the professional level and even in college sports, can turn the game into a vicious desire to win at any cost. Then, it seems to me, that games are no longer just “games” if winning is all that matters—no matter how you win, and no matter what you do to your opponents in the process.

 

One article I read recently laments the many ways in which a “me first” attitude is poisoning relationships. We see it in the nastiness of politics, often without much concern for the real problems of the people that those in public office are supposed to serve. We see it in unfair business practices, where the health and well-being of employees don’t seem to matter and anything that helps you get ahead is justified, even if it is immoral or illegal. And we see it in so many personal relationships that are falling apart because of a “me first” attitude that eats away at the relationship like a cancer.

 

And what does Jesus say? It cannot be that way among you, who claim to be my followers. That is certainly not my way, and nothing like what I stand for. Instead of worrying about how you are going to get to the top, I want you to look around you and find those who are at the bottom. Instead of worrying about how you can win, I want you to help others to become winners—to be appreciated for who they are, children of God, rather than pawns to be used for your advancement. I want you to be like Jim Redmond, who helped his son to win much more than a gold medal. I want you to be like Mother Teresa, who was never so proud or vain that she would refuse to reach down to the bottom, helping those who were abandoned to the ash heap of society as if they were little more than animals. Life is not about winning at any cost; it is about loving and serving and making life better for others. It’s about honor and valor in sports; it’s about making government fair and just and helpful in politics; in business, it’s about giving people a meaningful job in safe conditions, so they can provide for themselves and their families. If it’s only about winning, then everything, even a healthy sense of competition, gets distorted. It must not be that way among you. You are capable of far better, and you must not abandon the way intended by God.

 

Like Jesus, we are called to lift others up, to recognize their dignity, and restore them fully as children of the one God.

You might also like

Father's Homilies

Homily for the First Sunday of Advent November 30, 2025

By Charlene Currie • December 4, 2025
How Far Do You Want to Go?

Homily for the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe November 23, 2025

By Charlene Currie • November 28, 2025
Prairie Chickens and Eagles Homily for the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe November 23, 2025 An American Indian tells about a brave who found an eagle’s egg and put it into the nest of a prairie chicken. The eaglet hatched with the brood of chicks and grew up with them. All its life the changeling eagle, thinking it was a prairie chicken, did what the other prairie chickens did. It scratched in the dirt for seeds and insects to eat. It clucked and cackled. And it flew in a brief thrashing of wings and flurry of feathers no more than a few feet off the ground. After all, that’s how prairie chickens were supposed to fly. Years passed, and the changeling grew very old. One day it saw a magnificent bird soaring far above in the cloudless sky. Hanging with graceful majesty on the powerful wind currents, it soared with scarcely a beat of its strong golden wings. “What a beautiful bird!” said the changeling eagle to its neighbor. “What is it?” “That’s an eagle—the chief of the birds,” the neighbor clucked. “But don’t give it a second thought. You could never be like him.” So, the changeling eagle never gave it another thought. And it died thinking it was a prairie chicken. Today, we are celebrating the fact that Jesus Christ is the King of all God’s creation. And yet, it is strange that the gospel passage chosen for this feast is the scene of Jesus’ crucifixion. Notice how weak he is. Consider how he is laughed at and made fun of. “He saved others, let him save himself if he is the chosen one, the Christ of God….If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself.” So, the problem is one of expectations. The bystanders were looking for an eagle, and all they saw before them was a prairie chicken! And yet, at the end of the gospel, this prairie chicken seems to have some power that prairie chickens don’t normally have. When Jesus is asked by the thief being crucified with him, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom,” Jesus replies, “Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” Hardly a promise that could be made by a prairie chicken! What’s going on here? I’d like to refer us to a passage we find in the writings of St. Paul, a section of his letter to the Philippians that is the second reading on Palm Sunday, when we reflect on the crucifixion of Jesus. Here it is: “Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Because of this, God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Jesus taught the way of humility and service. He came to raise others up, especially those who were bowed down by poverty or prejudice. He taught that there was no greater love than to lay down one’s life for the love of others. Greatness is found not in building oneself up at the expense of others, but in building up others, especially those who need it the most. So, Jesus emptied himself, to the point of looking like a prairie chicken, and in doing so he showed us the way to the eternal kingdom by means of humble service, that we might become who we truly are, eagles destined to soar beyond the clouds.

Homily for the Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time November 16, 2025

By Charlene Currie • November 28, 2025
Too Stubborn to Quit. Homily for the Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time November 16, 2025 The California coast was blanketed in fog July 4, 1952. Twenty-one miles to the west, on Catalina Island, Florence Chadwick, a 34-year-old-long-distance-swimmer, waded in to the water and began swimming toward the California coast. She had already conquered the English Channel, swimming in both directions. Now she was determined to be the first woman to swim the Catalina Channel. As the hours ticked off, Chadwick fought bone-chilling cold, dense fog, and sharks. Several times, sharks had to be driven off by rifles. Fatigue never set in, but the icy water numbed her to the point of exhaustion. Straining to make out the shore through her swimmer’s goggles, she could see only a dense fog. She knew she could not go any farther. Although not a quitter, Chadwick shouted to her trainer and her mother in the boat and asked to be taken out of the water. They urged her not to give up, but when she looked toward the California coast, all she could see was thick fog. So after fifteen hours and fifty-five minutes of fighting the elements, she was hauled from the channel into the boat. Frozen to the bone and her spirit defeated, Chadwick was devastated when she discovered she was only a half-mile from the coast! She felt the shock of failure…. Two months later, Chadwick swam that same channel, and again fog clouded her vision, but this time she swam with her faith intact—that somewhere behind that fog was land. This time she succeeded. Not only was she the first woman to swim the Catalina Channel, but she beat the men’s record by two hours. A line from this story that struck me was: “this time she swam with her faith intact.” Florence Chadwick was able to persevere to her goal because she believed she could do it. In today’s gospel passage, Jesus speaks about the challenges and threats that will be faced by the first disciples when they go out into the world and start proclaiming the message. He doesn’t mince words or paint a rosy picture. Tough times of suffering will come. But then he adds, “By your perseverance you will secure your lives.” In reflecting on this teaching, I was reminded of another Bible story. The disciples are in a boat crossing a lake. Jesus had stayed behind to spend some time in prayer. Then, late at night, he comes toward them, walking on the water. The disciples are frightened, thinking they’re seeing a ghost. Jesus tries to reassure them, when Simon Peter yells, “Lord, if it is really you, command that I walk on the water toward you.” Jesus invites him to do so, and Peter steps out of the boat and actually walks on the water toward Jesus. But then, he looks down and notices the threatening situation he is in. And he begins to sink. Jesus has to fish him out of the water and get him back into the boat (Cf. Matthew 14:22-33). What makes the difference? As long as Peter keeps his eyes on Jesus, he can do the seemingly impossible. When he focuses on the threat, he sinks. We find something similar in the writings of St. Paul. In his first letter to the Corinthians, he writes, “You know that while all the runners in the stadium take part in the race, the award goes to one man. In that case, run so as to win! Athletes deny themselves all sorts of things. They do this to win a crown of leaves that withers, but we a crown that is imperishable. I do not run like a man who loses sight of the finish line…” (1 Cor 9:24-26). So, when we have to face difficulties, when we live in hard times, when we feel left out or let down, how are we supposed to keep going? Florence Chadwick failed when she couldn’t see the finish line. When she found faith withing herself again, she was able to go back and reach her goal. Peter was even able to walk on water, but only as long as he kept his eyes on Jesus. And Paul writes that he has been able to keep going, even while facing all sorts of hardships, because he has never lost sight of the goal. When facing challenges, a stubborn faith is required; perseverance is needed. It’s very easy to give up, to call it quits, to feel that there’s no way to face all the problems that pile up. We don’t have to face life’s challenges alone. Jesus is with us. And he asks us to be there for each other. He asks us to persevere, to have faith, to be too stubborn to quit.