Today's Gospel passage includes Jesus' second prediction of His passion and His reaction to the disciples who were arguing among themselves as to who was the greatest among themselves. Jesus' disciples were incapable of comprehending what Jesus was trying to teach them, either about Himself or the message He had been preaching. Their blindness evidently is at least in part due to the conventional attitudes they held about honor, status, and power, which they shared with the people around them.

Are we much different than the disciples? Are we not as bound by the values of our own cultures as the disciples were by theirs? As Jesus tells us, He came not to be served but to serve, and He asks His disciples to follow His example. How often do we judge one another by our social status, wealth, and rank and role in society?

Pope Francis has spoken out strongly against the bane of clericalism in the Church and urged its leaders to view themselves as servants rather than as somehow privileged because of their role. If this is how our leaders should behave, so must all of us act in service to one another, caring for those who are least among us and in greater need.