(Mk. 9:37).

The disciples argue about who will be first, but Jesus proposes another way: service, simplicity, acceptance. It is sometimes not so easy to take the time to accompany a child, and even less, if he or she is sick, in our culture of efficiency. The truth is that in the Jewish world to which Jesus belonged, children were in the way; it was women’s work. These words of Jesus to his followers are the beginning of a change of mentality that many of us still do not have. Our persistence in competition, our rivalries, the desire for first places, and our search for efficiency distract us from this counsel of Jesus, so full of wisdom and compassion.