Become a real star

Movie stars have great lives, don't they? They're rich and famous, and they get to travel all over the world to make movies.

But lots of them say that being movie stars doesn't make them happy. They can't go anywhere without people bothering them. Some say they wish they weren't famous at all!

In this week's Gospel (Mark 9:30-37), the Apostles want to be stars. They think that just by hanging around with Jesus, they'll be famous and go to heaven. Jesus tells them that a star may not be the best thing to be!

Jesus heard the Apostles arguing with each other. "What are you fighting about?" He asked. They were ashamed, because they'd been arguing over which one of them was the greatest. Jesus told them, "If any of you wants to be first, he has to be a servant to all."

Many famous people say they miss being able to go to a restaurant without people taking pictures and asking for autographs. Being a star isn't fun for them; it just means people stare at them.

The Apostles thought it would be fun to be stars, though. Each of them wanted to be the greatest, Jesus' closest friend and the top person in heaven. But like the movie stars, Jesus said that being great wouldn't make them happy. Everyone wouldn't love them because they were famous; people would just watch them all the time.

Some movie stars use their money to help other people: kids, the poor, people with AIDS and other problems. Those stars see that helping others is really what makes people great.

That's the lesson that Jesus wanted the Apostles to learn: If they wanted to be close to Jesus, being a star wasn't the best way. The only way to be "great" to Jesus is to act like you're not -- to stick up for kids who are hurting, help someone with homework or visit people in a nursing home.

There are lots of ways to be great in God's eyes, but being a movie star isn't one of them!

PRAYER FOR THE WEEK: Jesus, help me find your ways to be a star. Amen!