Who is the Greatest?

Paul Skippen

16 Sep 2024

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Twenty-fifth Ordinary

Mark 9: 35 – 37

Jesus sat down and summoned the Twelve. “So you want first place? Then take the last place. Be the servant of all.” He put a child in the middle of the room. Then, cradling the little one in his arms, he said, “Whoever embraces one of these children as I do embraces me, and far more than me – God who sent me.”

The famous slogan “Winning isn’t everything; it’s the only thing” is often associated with Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi. Near the end of his life, the coach said, “I wish I’d never said the thing … I meant the effort. I meant having a goal. I sure didn’t mean for people to crush human values and morality.”

In the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, Derek Redmond was expected to medal in the 400- metre sprint. To the shock of spectators, 175 metres from the finish line he faltered with a torn right hamstring and collapsed. But then he slowly got to his feet, not to walk off the track, but hobbling only on his good leg, he was determined to finish the race, a race he obviously would not win. The crowd was on its feet.

Then, at about 120 metres, a man broke through security and ran to Redmond, who continued to hop toward the goal. It was his father, who wrapped his arm around Derek’s waist and said, “I’m here, son. We’ll finish together.” Derek put his arms around his father’s shoulders and sobbed and then kept going. In front of 65,000 cheering people, the finished the race together. There wasn’t a dry eye in the stadium.