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Gospel Commentary for August 12, 2025
The Kingdom of Heaven is something entirely different. It has nothing to do with the way we usually think. It has nothing to do with our fears.
Even the question the disciples ask reveals a lot about how they think. From Jesus’ point of view, their question is actually quite ridiculous. They are asking from a worldly mindset — a way of thinking that has led, throughout history, to one conflict after another. It’s a way of thinking that always places people in a hierarchy: some above, some below. But in the perspective of the Kingdom, that question just doesn’t make sense.
The Kingdom of Heaven is a kingdom built on brotherhood and equality. There is only one Father — God — who is above all. The rest of us are equals. We are all brothers and sisters, all at the same level. All sitting at the same table.
So when the disciples ask, “Who is the greatest in the Kingdom?” it’s a clear sign that they haven’t understood anything. Nothing at all. And as we follow their journey in the Gospel story, it’s obvious that it took them a long time to get it — and even today, we still struggle to understand it.
The Kingdom is a kingdom of equality and fraternity — it is a family, the family of God’s sons and daughters. That’s why it is also a kingdom of justice. And the real test that shows whether we are living in that Kingdom is this: the last must be first.
The weakest, the poorest, the least talented, the children, the elderly, the sick, those who suffer — all of these, who are often treated as the last in our world, are the first in God’s Kingdom.
When we treat them as the most important, when we serve and care for them, then the Kingdom is truly present among us.
Because the Father does not want a single one of these little ones to be lost. Because all of them are His beloved children.