The Greatest

On the way to Capernaum − naively thinking he was out of earshot − Jesus’ disciples argued about who was the greatest.

Jesus would have none of it. The disciples were thinking exclusively in human terms, with a conception of greatness epitomized by Muhammed Ali in his mid-70s heyday: external victory, worldly fame, and existential self-aggrandizement (leavened only partially by a hint of ironic self-deprecation).

They should have been thinking of the type of character shown by Ali in coping with his Parkinson’s disease.



Or, better yet, of his fourth wife, Yolanda (“Lonnie”) Ali, for her humble service in taking care of him.