Sunday Readings
Why it often seems like God does not intervene in the lives of people is because men and women of our time have taken their destinies into their hands, steering the course of their lives by themselves. –Clem
“You aspire to great things? Begin with little ones.” St Augustine
My Dearest Friends,
Today’s readings describe leadership as the sacrificial service done for others and present Jesus as the best example. They also explain the servant leadership of Jesus, pinpointing service and sacrifice as the criteria of greatness in Christ’s Kingdom.
Humanly speaking, many desire a better place or position in society. James and John went to Jesus as His cousins, to request prestigious positions when He enters His Glory. In the Gospel of Mathew 20:20 it was their mother who was making the same request. Yes, the ‘Glory’ is always the point of interest. That is why Jesus confronted them with the cup of suffering and service that should precede that Glory. We often request people running for secular positions to remember us when they get to the top. Today we see political leaders settling their friends and families with political positions and contracts that otherwise would never be executed. This is one of those factors that contribute to the gross failure in government projects and leadership in general. Many aspire for special positions, offices and ranks in society. We are often motivated by the glories of the office and not the sufferings and sacrifices that come with it. Many become dissatisfied with where they currently are because of their desire to be where they are not. We deprive ourselves of the joy of the moment because we desire the joys of tomorrow. We do all sorts of things just to be where we want to be. Today, people manipulate their real age, forge documents, rig elections, do all sorts of evil just to get to their desired position. Human desires can be misleading when not guided by the Spirit.
There is one thing we need to understand about life, the positions we occupy do not define our destiny. Self-fulfillment does not come from the office you occupy. When God puts an individual in a rightful position He grants all the Grace necessary to accomplish the task entrusted to that person; but when a person mischievously rigs himself into an office, disaster often follows. “The desire for fame tempts even noble minds.”– St. Augustine.
It is obvious that the interest is no longer on sacrificial service but on the reward and glories of the office. Many feel rejected or punished when they are assigned or transferred to work in neighborhoods, parishes, or local work. We would rather wish to remain in the urban areas where money flows and life is sweet rather than suffering in a poor locality. This mentality is greatly affecting our missionary zeal.
The first reading of today is a Messianic prophecy taken from the Fourth Servant Song in the second part of the book of the Prophet Isaiah. It tells how the promised Messiah will save mankind by sacrificing Himself as the atonement for our sins. Jesus has done this sacrificial service of love for us as the Suffering Servant by giving His life on the Cross as an offering for sin, interceding for us and taking our punishment upon Himself. He did this for you. What have you done for others? If you have been privileged by God, may others be privileged through you? This we can achieve by offering our time, energy, talents, resources in the service of others and not in seeking positions.
The second reading from the letter to the Hebrews reminds us how Jesus, the High Priest and Mediator, offered Himself as a fitting sacrifice to God the Father as a ransom to liberate us from the slavery of sin. In the time of Jesus, a ransom was the price paid to free someone from slavery. Sometimes the ransomer offered himself as a substitute for the slave, as Jesus did. This reading also speaks of a High Priest who can sympathize with us in our weakness because He has been tested in every way, though sinless, and so we can “confidently” hope for God’s Mercy. Jesus became a substitute for you and I. He has sympathy for our weakness making it possible for us to approach Him and obtain His Mercy. Dear child of God, can you offer yourself as a substitute for someone weak or sick? Can you take up the responsibilities of another who is incapacitated from going to work due to one problem or another? We often find it difficult to substitute for others without negotiating the price. We often take advantage of a person’s absence from work to take over his or her position. It is time to reflect deeply on Jesus becoming a substitute for us. God understands and He knows you are fragile and weak. He knows and understands the efforts each one of us is making. He forgives us even when we habitually sin against Him. Jesus took up our human nature and He understands what it means to be human. He was like us in everything except sin. To be human does not necessarily mean to be a sinner. Yes, human nature may be fragile but we must ask God for the Grace to overcome sin. “It is human to err, but it is devilish to remain willfully in error.”–St. Augustine.
God understands our weakness and makes His Mercy available to us, so why are we unnecessarily strict, very harsh, and unforgiving when people around us make simple mistakes? It is time, dearest child of God, we begin to accuse ourselves of being unchristian in treating others unkindly who make mistakes or who offend us by their mistakes. Let us be sympathetic and compassionate like Jesus. A true servant leader is compassionate and merciful. Let us avoid being too condemnatory. Jesus did not condemn us.
Today’s Gospel explains how Jesus has accomplished His mission of saving mankind from the slavery of sin by becoming the “Suffering Servant.” Here, Jesus challenges us to become great by serving others with sacrificial agape love. “Whoever wishes to be great must be a servant.” Jesus commands us to liberate others by giving ourselves to others in loving and humble service, just as He freed all of us.
May God open our hearts to accept the message of the Gospel and bring light to our world in the darkness of unbelief.
I keep you and your family always in my prayers.®Clem C. Aladi.
