To render a service to someone, most of us would be ready to do so.
But, to put oneself at the service of others… this is another proposition altogether!
And this is precisely what the Lord asks of us!
The gospel text of this Sunday (Mark 10:35-45) is quite clear about it:
“Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,
and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.”
To be great, who would not want to be?
To be known as a person of importance, to be famous, to have power and influence over people –
this is what so many people are struggling for, even… fighting for!
Strange how people nowadays are so much like the apostles of Jesus, 21 centuries ago!
They wanted places of honor in the kingdom to come!
But becoming a servant, even a slave, who would choose such a way of life?
Perhaps the question should not be ‘who’ but ‘WHY’ should someone make such a choice?
The answer, again, is given by Jesus himself:
“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve,
and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
The way of Christ, the way of a Christian…
Obviously, it is not a path easy to follow,
but it is definitely a path where we are sure that the Lord walks with us all along the way as it is… HIS way!
Note: Another reflection is available on a different theme in French at: https://image-i-nations.com/29e-dimanche-de-lannee-b-2021/
Today may be such a moment. The gospel text of this Sunday (25th, Year C – Lk.16:1-13) gives us some food for thought when we hear Jesus say: “No servant can be the slave of two masters… you cannot be the slave both of God and of money.”