Then He came to Capernaum. And when He was in the house He asked them, What was it you disputed among yourselves on the road? But they kept silent, for on the road they had disputed among themselves who would be the greatest. And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all. Then He took a little child and set him in the midst of them. And when He had taken him in His arms, He said to them; Whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me. Now John answered Him, saying, Teacher, we saw someone who does not follow us casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow us. But Jesus said, Do not forbid him, for no one who works a miracle in My name can soon afterward speak evil of Me. For he who is not against us is on our side. For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My name, because you belong to Christ, assuredly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.
How do we get up?
Saint Macarius the Egyptian, Great Letter 4, in Fathers and Church Writers (2014), vol. 12, pp. 46-47.
“For the Divine and Comforting Spirit, given to the Apostles and, through them, shared with the only true Church of God, unites in various and diverse ways, according to the faith of each, with all those who approach baptism with pure faith. For the purpose of multiplication, work, and increase, it receives every hand (cf. Luke 9:11-27), as it was said in the Gospel. Just as a child born in this age does not remain forever in the state of infancy, but grows every day out of necessity, according to the unspoken laws of nature, until reaching the state of perfect manhood (Ephesians 4:13), the fullness of rational understanding, in the same way, the one born from above, through water and the Spirit (John 3:3), should not remain in the state of spiritual infancy, but every day, by using effort, labor, and much patience in the struggle against the enemy, they should advance and increase until reaching the fullness of spiritual maturity, according to what the Apostle said: Until we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ (Ephesians 4:13-15). And again, in another place, he says: And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God (Romans 12:2). By this, it is stated that those who advance to the measure of maturity and the fullness of the Spirit reach the perfect will of God.”
Source: http://ziarullumina.ro.
