Anyone who aspires to greatness must serve the rest;
whoever wants to rank first among you must serve the needs of all.
The Son of Man has not come to be served but to serve.
As we get ever closer to the Great and Holy Week, that special week each year which is set aside for us to contemplate on the revelation of God through Jesus about the meaning and purpose of human life, our Church commemorates our Mother among the saints, Mary of Egypt. This follows upon our commemoration of our Father among the saints, John Climacus. Why does our Church have us remember these two saints immediately before the Great and Holy Week? They are commemorated so that all men and women will come to realize that what is revealed through Jesus by God is meant for all humans, male and female alike. God’s revelation is for all humans.
And what does God reveal to all of us? He reveals to us how we must live. A part of God’s revelation is wonderfully summarized in today’s Gospel reading. The revelation is this: Anyone who aspires to greatness must serve the rest; whoever wants to rank first among you must serve the needs of all.
Consider these words! Service to others is one of the primary aspects of the Christian way of living. When we approach life with the thought of being of service to others, life changes. The truth of this revelation was presented to us by the way Jesus lived. Think about it. The primary focus of His life was service to others. Being of service to others is one of the primary means we have to spiritually grow. When service to others becomes the focus of our lives, we begin to live in a different way. We no longer make ourselves the focus of life! We don’t live just for ourselves. We come to realize that the way we come to truly love God, Who we cannot see, is by serving and truly loving those we can see.
It is essential, however, that we remember that we are called not just to serve those with whom we have a direct relationship but, rather, those who life sends to us.
Think about how Jesus lived His life. He reached out to those He found in need and positively responded to those who sought His help. He always had time for others and never shied away from providing time and help to those He encountered.
It is important to remember that all of us, who say we follow Jesus, focus on being of service to others.