In the Old Testament, we have the beautiful story of Jonathan and David.  They were great friends, Jonathan was the heir to the throne (the son of Saul), but God wanted David to be the next king of Israel. Jonathan could have been hurt,  he could have been envious,  but he was not.  He was a faithful friend;  and friendship was more important to him than being first, than being king.  The story of Jonathan is a great lesson for each one of us.  We would all like to be first in something;  competition is very healthy,  it helps us bring out the best in ourselves.  It leads to improvement;  but it is a two edged sword. It can make us generous, helpful and grateful,  or it can make us arrogant, proud and selfish.  In this week’s gospel, Jesus reminds us of this with a few simple words;  ‘they who are now last will be first and they who are now first will be last’.  It is a gentle reminder not get carried away by applause, by esteem, by success, not to think that we are better than others.  Many of us of a certain vintage, were shocked to hear of the death of Olivia Newton John recently, at the young age of 73. I watched an interview of her a couple of years ago, and the interviewer asked her the question: ‘how did she keep a balance after her performance in Grease with John Travolta,  which catapulted her to stardum at such a young age. She said that she always reminded herself that everything is fleeting, passing and this  fame and stardum will soon pass. She spoke about how grateful she was to God and that if God  gave good health to her daughter, she would say an Our Father everyday of her life, which she did. If we want to be first in something, let us be first in kindness, generosty and gratitude.  The greatest example is Jesus himself.  When he became man, he could have chosen to be a prince or a king,  he chose to be a servant.  In another part of the gospel he says: ‘if you want to be great, then be small,  and be a servant of all”.  So even when we do experience success in our lives,  when we feel we have come first,  let us never miss the opportunity to be helpful and to be kind. In this we will find true hapinness.