Service Not Status

Homily For the 31st Sunday in the Ordinary Time, Year A, November 4, 2023.

Sunday Readings

” ..And this desire for power is not the way to becoming a servant of the Lord, in fact: it is an obstacle, one of these obstacles we prayed to the Lord to remove from us.”– Pope Francis

My Dearest Friends in Christ,

With joy, I welcome you into God’s presence. May His words today inspire us to be better servants who feel the pains of those we serve and seek to make their burdens light, without seeking status.

The central theme of today’s readings is a strong invitation and challenge to render humble, selfless, diligent, committed, and loving service to others in the community without expecting honor or rewards in return. In the first reading, the prophet Malachi condemns the irresponsible, proud, and lazy priests of his day. In the second reading, St. Paul presents himself as an ideal example of servant leadership in a Christian community.

Humility in Service Is A Virtue

Humility in the service of God is the most important virtue in religion because whoever comes before the Lord must first humbly acknowledge the superiority and omnipotence of God and ask that His will be done. From humility comes obedience to God. If Saul had obeyed God, he wouldn’t have been deposed from his office as the King of Israel (cf. 1st Samuel 25:20-23). Pride accompanies disobedience. Do you know why Moses did not enter the promised land? It’s because God asked him to speak to the rock, but he arrogantly struck the rock, saying, ‘You rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?’ Moses failed to show that it was not by his power that the water came forth; he made it look like it was by his authority. Because of his arrogance, God said to Moses and Aaron, ‘Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them’ (cf. Numbers 20:8-12). When we exercise religious or secular authority as though the power comes from us, we fail to honor God, and that will spell disaster for us. You are called to be a servant leader, not a demi-god.

Called to be Humble Servant Leaders

In today’s gospel, Jesus warns us against hypocrisy and status-seeking, which were challenges faced by the early Church and our own Church communities. When individuals fail to recognize their calling from God and understand that they are merely servants, pride and arrogance can take hold. Often, we don’t see ourselves as servants of God but as leaders of people. It’s either you are a person of God or a ruler of people. The gospel serves as a warning to Church leaders and all Christians. Jesus offers a word of judgment against contemporary religious leaders who are more concerned about self-promotion than service to others. Christ-like leadership calls for integrity and honesty from all those in authority, whether they are priests, parents, teachers, or politicians. There should be no double standards in leaders. Instead, there should be a deep sense of equality and mutual respect between leaders and those they serve. Each should seek to serve the other. Service, not status, is the mark of this new community, and true humility is the only position its members should seek.

Status Seeking In Religious Service Is Sabotaging God’s Authority

The scribes in the time of Jesus were similar to today’s religious intellectuals, theologians, and professional lawyers who are adept at applying the Law to everyday life. The Pharisees formed a fraternity of highly religious laymen who joined together to observe the Mosaic Law meticulously. Matthew’s description of Jesus’ criticism of the scribes and the Pharisees was mainly directed toward elements within the Judeo-Christian community that sought to impose an extremely narrow and burdensome interpretation of the Torah on Gentile converts. Jesus’ condemnations were also meant as a warning to future Christian leaders about possible abuses of authority in their ministry. They should never say one thing and do another. Instead, they should faithfully follow their Master’s teaching and avoid titles and practices that imply arrogant superiority, which can lead to hypocrisy. The Holy Spirit, through Matthew’s account, emphatically reminds us that Jesus never intended His followers to divide themselves into ‘clergy and laity,’ or into ‘superiors and inferiors,’ but rather intended a community of mutual love and service in which leaders and teachers were to be servants of those they led and taught.

The Catechism: You are to be Slaves to All

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that bishops and priests have authority over the laity, given to them by Christ (CCC #876). Yet the character of their ministry must be service. The Catechism reminds us, “Because the word and grace of which they are ministers are not their own, but are given to them by Christ for the sake of others, they must freely become the slaves of all” (CCC #876). The exercise of this authority must, therefore, be measured against the model of Christ, who, by love, made himself the least and the servant of all” (CCC #1551).

We ask God to grant us the grace to be humble servants in whatever office we occupy in the church or society today so we can build a new civilization of love.