25th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year B
Today’s First Reading from the Book of Wisdom, chapter 2, verse 12, 17 to 20 tells us of the worries of the children of God who were persecuted for living out their belief in God. This same narrative can be applied to Jesus, who was persecuted, condemned and killed for doing the will of His Father.
This was why in today’s Gospel Reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark, chapter 9, verse 30 to 37, Jesus prepares His disciples for His impending passion, death and resurrection. He told them, “the Son of Man is to be handed over to men and they will kill him, and three days after his death the Son of Man will rise.” Confused and dismayed by this news, the disciples of Jesus argued on the way home about who was the greatest among them because they thought Jesus had come to establish an earthly kingdom, and they had their eyes on that earthly kingdom. When they got back, Jesus sat down, called the Twelve, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.”
With these words, Jesus teaches us that true greatness in answering our call to discipleship can be only achieved in our service to God. Jesus reminds His apostles that their call to discipleship and the authority given them as His Apostles entails servitude to God. So since Jesus wants us to be servants of all, who is a servant, and what is the duty of a servant? A servant is a person who performs duties for others. The duty of a servant is to be a devoted and helpful follower or supporter of their master. From this definition my dear friends, we can deduce that a servant is one who is devoted to their master, obedient to them, humble and honest in their dealings for their master. What does it mean to a devoted servant, to be obedient, to be humble and to be honest?
To a devoted servant means to have a strong or constant feeling of regard and dedication to one’s master. Are we truly devoted to God? Do we have a feeling of strong or constant regard for Him and dedication to Him?
To be obedient in our servitude to God means being connected to trust and respect God, that is, an act or practice of obeying; and a dutiful or submissive compliance. Are we obedient to God? Do we trust and respect Him? Do we obey Him? Are we submissive to Him and His Church?
Being humble in servitude is a quality of being simple. It is a modest or low view of one's own importance when compared to the greatness of God, free of ambition and not being consumed by pride. Are we humble in our service to God or for God? Is God the center of our lives or is it all about us? Are we prideful or are we aware of our insignificance when compared to God? Are we honest and free of pretense in our service to God and His Church?
My brothers and sisters in Christ, as Jesus reminded us in today’s gospel reading to be the last of all and the servant of all, if we wish to be first, let us become better servants and disciples of Christ by becoming true servants of all in our devotedness to God, in our obedience to Him, by being humble and by being honest in our service to Him and in our dealings with others.
