We hear from different prophets and different books of the Old Testament in the daily masses during Lent. Yesterday, we heard from the prophet Isaiah. Today and tomorrow, we hear from the prophet Jeremiah. Today, Jeremiah laments how the people have turned against him. He prays to God out of fear for his own safety. The people plot against Jeremiah.
Perhaps our reading from Jeremiah today brings to mind those who plot against Jesus on his journey to the cross. Today, in the Gospel, Jesus points out the importance of serving others rather than wanting to be served ourselves. If we do not have this attitude of service, we are missing the message of Christ’s Good News.
Maybe we get discouraged because we do not see our acts of service making much of a difference. But St Teresa of Calcutta stated: "We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop.” We are to see our service as integral to our life of faith, as organically coming out of our prayers and our relationship with God, as Jesuit priest Michael Graham states: “Service is what prayer looks like when it gets up off its knees and walks around in the world.” May we hear Jesus today calling us to a life of service.
No comments:
Post a Comment