It Is All About Service

First reading
Ecclesiasticus 2:1-11 ©

The chosen are tested like gold in the fire

My son, if you aspire to serve the Lord,

  prepare yourself for an ordeal.

Be sincere of heart, be steadfast,

  and do not be alarmed when disaster comes.

Cling to him and do not leave him,

  so that you may be honored at the end of your days.

Whatever happens to you, accept it,

  and in the uncertainties of your humble state, be patient,

since gold is tested in the fire,

  and chosen men in the furnace of humiliation.

Trust him and he will uphold you,

  follow a straight path and hope in him.

You who fear the Lord, wait for his mercy;

  do not turn aside in case you fall.

You who fear the Lord, trust him,

  and you will not be baulked of your reward.

You who fear the Lord hope for good things,

  for everlasting happiness and mercy.

Look at the generations of old and see:

  whoever trusted in the Lord and was put to shame?

Or whoever feared him steadfastly and was left forsaken?

  Or whoever called out to him, and was ignored?

For the Lord is compassionate and merciful,

  he forgives sins and saves in days of distress.

Gospel	Mark 9:30-37 ©

Anyone who welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me

Jesus and his disciples made their way through Galilee; and he did not want anyone to know, because he was instructing his disciples; he was telling them, ‘The Son of Man will be delivered into the hands of men; they will put him to death, and three days after he has been put to death he will rise again.’ But they did not understand what he said and were afraid to ask him.

  They came to Capernaum, and when he was in the house he asked them, ‘What were you arguing about on the road?’ They said nothing because they had been arguing which of them was the greatest. So he sat down, called the Twelve to him and said, ‘If anyone wants to be first, he must make himself last of all and servant of all.’ He then took a little child, set him in front of them, put his arms around him, and said to them, ‘Anyone who welcomes one of these little children in my name, welcomes me; and anyone who welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.’

You may notice an anomaly today.  Normally I reflect on one of the two or three readings for the mass of the day.  Today the two reading mesh together so well, I thought we should touch on both of them.  The theme of the readings is service, serving the Lord and serving one another.  Ecclesiasticus, you know the same writer who brought you "vanity, everything is vanity" says that when we service the Lord we will be tested as gold is tested in fire.  He points out that if we look at the generations that came before that none of the ones were balked of their reward.  This is an odd use of the word balk.  It means to stop short, to hesitate.  So God will not hesitate to give you your reward.  Jesus says it very plainly to us. He says that those that want to be first must make themselves last and the servant of all.  Can you really understand what this means?  To be a servant to all removes all rank, titles, and brings all of mankind to one level.  Imagine, you as a servant is, in God's eyes. equal to the Pope or the Queen of England, or the President of the United States.  You as a servant have the same dignity as those people when they are acting as servants themselves. 

When Queen Elizabeth stands before God at the end of her life, after God asks what in the world she was carrying around in those purses over the years, will ask her how she served His people, the powerless, the ones at the bottom rung who are looking up.  When we stand before God, He will ask us the same question and we had better be ready to answer.  If you think that you are going to escape this earth without being a servant, well, I am sorry for you for there is no greater calling than to be a servant, to befriend someone in need, to cause a smile to appear where formerly there were only tears.  You do not have to do great things to be a good servant, small things done with great love as Mother Teresa says is all that is required.  One act of love will build on another and another and yet another and soon the job of bringing smiles into the world becomes a labor of love and you begin to see how doing this makes you yourself happier. 

God knows this and He knows that His children will be happier when they bring happiness to others and in doing so, imitating Him.  The crosses we carry become lighter when we do not focus on ourselves but on others because we can always find someone worse off.  But, you say that you see an exception here, what about on that day, when in great pain and death is approaching, is there anyone lower than you at that moment?  At that moment, at the moment of your greatest weakness, you are stronger than you ever have been before.  The pains you suffer on that day when applied to the poor souls in Purgatory will be the source of many who will end their time there and be taken up into heaven.  In your last moment, you will be surprised at seeing those you have helped come to your aid because you were a servant to them. 

So, being a servant is our highest calling. Make use of the opportunities that come your way. Remember, small things done with great love are a powerful testimony to others about how God is working in your life.  Remember too, accept thanks from those you serve, acknowledging them gives them the dignity that they are born with.  Be willing also to accept help from others.  It is the human way in this twenty-first century to be self-made, to be strong, to be beholding to no one, seeking nor giving no quarter.  It is to these towers of strength that our friend Ecclesiasticus gives the vanity speech.  

Always be ready to acknowledge that you are needy when you are.  When you do this you are acknowledging your human frailty and your dependence on God and therefore on your fellow creatures.  It is not a thing of shame to need help, think of it as cooperating with God in building up His kingdom and being a source of grace for the other person.  Then, when you can, pay it forward.  Give of yourself and do not worry about the cost. Give love and you will receive love.