Ordinary Time - Week 29b
To Serve
(From Conversation with God, Fernandez Carvajal)Today's Gospel recounts the memorable request which James and John made to Jesus. They wanted to hold places of honour in his kingdom. Their petition provoked a storm of indignation among the Apostles. Jesus took this opportunity to teach the Twelve: You know that those who are supposed to rule over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you; but whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. Finally, Jesus gives them the greatest reason by far: For the Son of man also came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.
The Lord repeated this idea on any number of occasions: I have come not to be served but to serve. His whole life was a service to others. His doctrine is a constant appeal to mankind to forget self and live for others. He went throughout Palestine serving each person He met along the way. Christ's life and teaching are with us to the present day in the Church and in a special way in the Holy Eucharist. Jesus is ready to serve us, to keep us company with his humility and grace. On the night before his Passion and Death Jesus emphasised the importance of this message when he washed the feet of his disciples. He urged his closest followers to do the same for their brethren.
The Church is the continuation of the salvific mission of Christ in the world. Her very reason for being lies in serving mankind through the preaching of the Word and the celebration of the sacraments. Sharing the noblest aspirations of men and suffering when she sees them not satisfied she wishes to help them attain their full flowering and that is why she offers men what she possesses as her characteristic attribute - a global vision of man and of the human race.
As we seek to imitate the Lord we Christians should be ready to give cheerful service to God and other people without expecting anything in return. We should serve even those who do not appreciate our help. Many will not understand our cheerful attitude of self-denial. We should be content in the knowledge that Christ knows full well the efforts we are making on his behalf. The pride of a Christian is precisely in this dimension: to serve as the Master served. Yet we learn how to serve only when we are close to Jesus.
When you start out each day to work by Christ's side and to look after all those souls who seek him, remember that there is only one way of doing it: we must turn to the Lord. Only in prayer, and through prayer, do we learn to serve others. Prayer will give us all the strength and humility we require to serve others.