This Lenten season, let’s reflect on the importance of serving others, especially when we have been blessed with talents and privileges. Instead of expecting to be served, let’s cultivate a heart of service and humility.
This we can gather from what Christ himself said once to his disciples: “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mt 20,26-28)
This is how we can properly handle our greatness which we can always presume since, first of all, among God’s creatures we are the ones who have been created in his very image and likeness, meant to share in the very life and nature of God. All other creatures, except the angels, come from God and belong to God, but do not go to the extent of entering into the very life and nature of God.
We need to realize that our greatness as God’s image and likeness and that attitude of wanting to serve and not to be served are like two sides of the same coin. One cannot go without the other. This was clearly shown by Christ himself who, being God, emptied himself by becoming man and going all the way to offering his life as a ransom for our sins.
Indeed, there is an intimate and mutual relation between greatness and humility expressed in wanting to serve rather than to be served. When one is truly humble, it can only show the greatness of his heart. And when one is great in stature and dignity, he knows he is there to serve more than anything else. True greatness is never shown in pride and vanity. It is proven and verified in humility.
This mutual relation between humility and greatness is expressed when we manage to value others, whoever and however they are, above ourselves and when we look after their interest instead of our own. (cfr. Phil 2,3-4)
This is what we clearly see in the life of Christ. Let’s call to mind that stunning example of his when he shocked his apostles when he started and insisted to wash their feet at the Last Supper.
For us to have this humility and greatness in our life, we need to be always with Christ and Mary. We need to be in constant conversation with Christ and Mary, referring everything to them, asking them for the answers to our questions, clarifications to the many issues we have to grapple with in life, strength for our weaknesses and temptations, contrition and conversion after our falls, etc.
We should do everything to keep this state of humility alive in us all the time. We know very well how easy it is for us to take this virtue for granted. We have to realize more vividly how vulnerable we are to the ways of pride, arrogance, self-centeredness, desire for power and domination, etc. Humility keeps us guarded against these dangers.
And when we happen to receive praises and honors from others because of our good works, let’s keep our feet firmly stuck to the ground, not allowing ourselves to be intoxicated. We should not allow these praises and honors to go to our head and cast some evil spell over us. Instead, we have to thank God profusely. All praises and honors belong to him. What we should realize also is that those praises and honors given to us are actually a sign that we have to give ourselves more to God and to others. Our sense of duty and responsibility should become sharper. (Fr. Roy Cimagala)
