The WORD today (See http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/022416.cfm)
reminds me that God wants us to be servant leaders.
Most of us want to be
successful. We want to be rich and powerful. We want to be achievers. We want to be leaders. However, As followers of
Christ, we should imitate him. We should imitate how he lived his life. We
should not be contented with just being a leader.
Jesus, the Son of God, came down to our level and became human.
Not only that, he came not as a strong and mighty king, but as a baby in a
manger in a small town of Bethlehem. No fuss, no attention to himself.
Christ’s
life was of pure obedience to God the Father. It was pure surrender to God’s
will, even when it is difficult to. It was pure service to God through human
beings, even the unlovable ones. This is a result of Christ’s pure love to God
the Father – willing to empty himself and
allow God to fill him, to control him, to use him. This is how
Christ wants us to live.
Christ
came to serve us. He could have asked his disciples or the angels to do all the
work. Preaching. Proclaiming. Miracles. Praying. But he did not. He did things
himself. Instead of asking others to serve him, the son of God, he came to
serve us to the point of death. Napaka baliktad sa mundo natin
where powerful people are being served by those who have less.
Christ
was not just a leader, he was a servant
leader. In that regard, being a servant
comes first before being a leader. Thus being a great leader
requires being a great servant as well. May this inspire us as we live our
lives and build our dreams. This is what God wants us to be as well.
What is my definition of
greatness? In what way am I a leader? More than a leader, am I a servant
leader? What do I want to do or accomplish with my life? Am I humble enough to
let God control my life or do I want things to happen my own way?
Father God,
Thank you for this day. Thank you for another day to
live. Thank you Lord for reminding me that your ways are not the same as the
way of this world we are currently living in. Lord, help me have the desire to
strive for greatness, not in terms of this world, but in yours. Help me use my
life on earth to prepare for eternity with you. May I desire to serve other
people, for in serving them, I serve you Lord. Use me and fill me with
everything that is of you as you take away everything that is not of you. Fill
me to the overflowing so I can share this to others. This I ask in faith in
Jesus name, Amen.
In
Christ,
-g-
Ps
See
related reflections:
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Wednesday of the Second Week of Lent
Lectionary: 232
Reading 1 Jer 18:18-20
The people of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem said,
“Come, let us contrive a plot against Jeremiah.
It will not mean the loss of instruction from the priests,
nor of counsel from the wise, nor of messages from the prophets.
And so, let us destroy him by his own tongue;
let us carefully note his every word.”
Heed me, O LORD,
and listen to what my adversaries say.
Must good be repaid with evil
that they should dig a pit to take my life?
Remember that I stood before you
to speak in their behalf,
to turn away your wrath from them.
“Come, let us contrive a plot against Jeremiah.
It will not mean the loss of instruction from the priests,
nor of counsel from the wise, nor of messages from the prophets.
And so, let us destroy him by his own tongue;
let us carefully note his every word.”
Heed me, O LORD,
and listen to what my adversaries say.
Must good be repaid with evil
that they should dig a pit to take my life?
Remember that I stood before you
to speak in their behalf,
to turn away your wrath from them.
Responsorial Psalm PS 31:5-6, 14, 15-16
R. (17b) Save me, O Lord, in your kindness.
You will free me from the snare they set for me,
for you are my refuge.
Into your hands I commend my spirit;
you will redeem me, O LORD, O faithful God.
R. Save me, O Lord, in your kindness.
I hear the whispers of the crowd, that frighten me from every side,
as they consult together against me, plotting to take my life.
R. Save me, O Lord, in your kindness.
But my trust is in you, O LORD;
I say, “You are my God.”
In your hands is my destiny; rescue me
from the clutches of my enemies and my persecutors.
R. Save me, O Lord, in your kindness.
I am the light of the world, says the Lord;
whoever follows me will have the light of life.
You will free me from the snare they set for me,
for you are my refuge.
Into your hands I commend my spirit;
you will redeem me, O LORD, O faithful God.
R. Save me, O Lord, in your kindness.
I hear the whispers of the crowd, that frighten me from every side,
as they consult together against me, plotting to take my life.
R. Save me, O Lord, in your kindness.
But my trust is in you, O LORD;
I say, “You are my God.”
In your hands is my destiny; rescue me
from the clutches of my enemies and my persecutors.
R. Save me, O Lord, in your kindness.
Verse Before the Gospel Jn 8:12
whoever follows me will have the light of life.
Gospel Mt 20:17-28
As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem,
he took the Twelve disciples aside by themselves,
and said to them on the way,
“Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem,
and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests
and the scribes,
and they will condemn him to death,
and hand him over to the Gentiles
to be mocked and scourged and crucified,
and he will be raised on the third day.”
Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee approached Jesus with her sons
and did him homage, wishing to ask him for something.
He said to her, “What do you wish?”
She answered him,
“Command that these two sons of mine sit,
one at your right and the other at your left, in your kingdom.”
Jesus said in reply,
“You do not know what you are asking.
Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?”
They said to him, “We can.”
He replied,
“My chalice you will indeed drink,
but to sit at my right and at my left,
this is not mine to give
but is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”
When the ten heard this,
they became indignant at the two brothers.
But Jesus summoned them and said,
“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them,
and the great ones make their authority over them felt.
But it shall not be so among you.
Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant;
whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave.
Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve
and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
he took the Twelve disciples aside by themselves,
and said to them on the way,
“Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem,
and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests
and the scribes,
and they will condemn him to death,
and hand him over to the Gentiles
to be mocked and scourged and crucified,
and he will be raised on the third day.”
Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee approached Jesus with her sons
and did him homage, wishing to ask him for something.
He said to her, “What do you wish?”
She answered him,
“Command that these two sons of mine sit,
one at your right and the other at your left, in your kingdom.”
Jesus said in reply,
“You do not know what you are asking.
Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?”
They said to him, “We can.”
He replied,
“My chalice you will indeed drink,
but to sit at my right and at my left,
this is not mine to give
but is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”
When the ten heard this,
they became indignant at the two brothers.
But Jesus summoned them and said,
“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them,
and the great ones make their authority over them felt.
But it shall not be so among you.
Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant;
whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave.
Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve
and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
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