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.
In
the gospel, we see that Jesus told his disciples that those who want to be
great should serve first. He knows what he was saying. He lived it. 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.
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?
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.
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, sorry for the times I seek greatness in the ways of the world, not yours.
Sorry for not having the willingness and desire to serve you through others.
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.
Blessed day!
In Christ,
-g-
February 28, 2018
Wednesday of the Second Week of Lent
Lectionary: 232
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.
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
I
am the light of the world, says the Lord;
whoever follows me will have the light of life.
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,i
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,i
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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