"Therefore,
Jesus called them and said to them, “You know that among the Gentiles those
whom they recognize as their ruler’s lord it over them and their great ones are
tyrants over them. But, it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great
among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must
be slave of all. For the son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to
give his life a ransom for many.”"
Bishop Richard Greco
told about Jesus’ message that greatness and authority in the kingdom of God
are to be redefined in terms of service. James and John, the disciples of
Jesus, desired recognition. But Jesus wanted his disciples to realize to look
at life not at the top downward rather to share the point of reference to look
not up but down to those who are poor, needy, and suffering. We should offer
service to others with compassion, humility, respect, and dignity. He mentioned
that there are different kinds of services to build Christian community:
- Service of holding one’s tongue – to prevent criticisms
- Service of humility – to honor opinion for the well-being of another before oneself
- Service of listening – to listen carefully; to use our ears for the Lord and not to what others will say
- Service of bearing one another’s burden
- Service of proclamation – communicating consolation or admonition about speaking the truth
In summary, the
authority given to us in the kingdom of God is to be humble, speak words that
give life, ask to be helpful, bear the burden of others, and speak the words of
love to others.
No comments:
Post a Comment