by Deacon Michael Bickerstaff | October 20, 2024 12:05 am
Pray with me, Lord help me strive for greatness and holiness through love of you and humble service to others. Grant me the knowledge and courage to do your will always. Amen.
I would imagine that most of you here this morning, if not everyone, desire to have a happy and fulfilling life. And many of you also desire something more, maybe to achieve something great. Seeking greatness, properly understood, is good and holy. In fact, it is the virtue of magnanimity—striving for excellence.
Some of you might not think you are striving for greatness, although you really are. For example, parents seek greatness through and for their children. Think about it!
Most parents want their children to be in the best schools and to do well. No parent would really want just second best for their child. No parent would be satisfied with their children just getting by and not trying their best. That’s why we encourage and require our kids to study hard, do their homework on time, prepare for their tests, and to do extra work. That’s why we sign them up for extracurricular activities like sports, band, and the arts.
We want only the best for our children. Guess what, God wants the best for us also.
Maybe James and John had all this in mind when they asked Jesus to grant them positions of authority and prominence at his left and right when he came into his glory. I suspect that they did not fully understand what coming into his glory meant, nor the path that had to be taken to get there.
That’s one advantage we have over James and John, we know the path to glory and eternal life entails our sacrifice, suffering, and service to others.
Jesus asked James and John if they could drink from the cup that the Lord would drink, or to be baptized with the baptism he would experience. Both his cup and baptism point to his passion and death. How did James and John miss this when Jesus had just finished explaining in detail that when they arrived in Jerusalem, he would be arrested, turned over to the chief priests and scribes who would condemn him to death. Jesus would then be handed over to the Gentiles who would “mock him, and spit upon him, and scourge him, and kill him.”
James and John said they were willing, although I am still not convinced that they truly understood this before the Crucifixion.
Our readings this morning provide a clear lesson for how we should and must live as the Lord’s disciples.
Our example for this lesson is Jesus Christ, himself.
In Isaiah’s prophecy of the Suffering Servant, we learn that Jesus, the Messiah, will endure suffering for the sake of others. This isn’t meaningless suffering; it is suffering for the good of others—our redemption. We don’t seek out suffering, but when it must be endured for the good of others and the Kingdom, we accept it and offer it to the Lord for the redemption of others.
We hear in the Letter to the Hebrews that Jesus, our High Priest, understands us, sympathizes with us and will be merciful and provide us with the help we need to follow his example.
In our gospel, Jesus makes clear that the path to greatness and glory is through humble service to others and that will often involve sacrifice and suffering. He said, “whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all.”
Again, God desires great things for us. It doesn’t matter what work we perform or the position and office we hold. We are to strive for greatness through humble service to others, placing their needs before our own… at home, at work, and in public. Jesus provides us with two sacramental principles to help us in today’s gospel. In baptism, we died to our old self and rose to new life in Christ. We need to faithfully live that reality with purpose. In the Eucharist, the Bread of Life and Cup of Blessing, we are more closely united with the Lord, and through him to one another, and receive the grace to be his humble servant and carry on his work.
This absolutely takes our effort and hard work.
Many of you have followed the baseball playoffs and are looking forward to the World Series. The teams seeking to become World Series champions did not get here by accident. A whole lot of sacrifice, suffering, and hard work enabled them to get to this point. Individuals had to give of themselves for the good of the team. This is always true in team sports. It is true in the life of faith as well.
We must be intentional followers of Jesus Christ. We must practice the virtues, including magnanimity and humility, to overcome sin and vice. We need the sacraments to unite us to the Lord and to provide his grace to live the faith. We need to seek the good of others before our own.
This is the third weekend of our Refocus Series at the parish. We are striving to see the beauty of God’s design of life and dignity of the human person. The theme this week is Serving… giving of oneself in the service to another. So let me challenge you to consider two things in the coming weeks as we draw to the end of the liturgical year.
First, take a look at our bulletin after Mass. You will see a number of parish ministries geared to helping those with a particular need. Ministries such as Walking with Moms, St. Vincent de Paul, Extraordinary Ministry to the Sick and Homebound, and many others. Find one that you can support or participate in… then get involved.
Second, wake up each day and ask God to show you who he wants you to serve that day… a neighbor, a stranger, a co-worker, a family member. Be open and attentive to the prompting of the Holy Spirit through the day. Do not be afraid to serve someone.
Pray with me, Lord help me strive for greatness and holiness through love of you and humble service to others. Grant me the knowledge and courage to do your will always. Amen.
Into the deep…
The scripture readings during Holy Mass for the Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B) are: Isaiah 53:10-11 | Psalms 33:4-5, 18-19, 20, 22 | Hebrews 4:14-16 | Mark 10:35-45 or 10:42-45[1].
Image credit: “The Good Samaritan” (detail) | Balthasar van Cortbemde[2], Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
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