As we know, the disciples asked Jesus several times during their years with him:  Who is the greatest in the Kingdom/Reign of God?  His answers always were a surprise to them, and to us:  the greatest is the one who serves; the first shall be last; and so on. Today he tells them that they must become like little children.

What does it mean to you to become like a little child?  For me it means to be honest, open, trusting, vulnerable, dependent, on the receiving end, somehow simple, adventuresome, playful, loving surprises, and having a sense of wonder. Jesus tells them and us:  to become like a child you are going to have to change.

As a Jesuit, I used to think that I could give glory to God.  The Jesuit professor who taught us two semesters on God’s grace, said to me:  “Listen, Robert, you give glory to God when you RECEIVE what God wants to give you, when God wants to give it to you, and to the extent that God wants to give to you.

—Fr. Robert Braunreuther, S.J., a Jesuit of the New England province, serves in University Ministry at Loyola University Chicago, where he is also the minister of the Arrupe House Jesuit community.