Servant of All

While Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside by themselves, and said to them on the way, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death; then they will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified; and on the third day he will be raised.”

Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to him with her sons, and kneeling before him, she asked a favor of him. And he said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Declare that these two sons of mine will sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.” But Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?” They said to him, “We are able.” He said to them, “You will indeed drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left, this is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”

When the ten heard it, they were angry with the two brothers. But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. It will not be so among you; but whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave; just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:17-28 

The view from the servant's place is so much different. Whether sitting or standing, slaving over a hot stove or scrubbing floors, they must be ready to respond. Very few of us has had to live our lives in constant servitude. We might choose to serve meals to the homeless on holidays. We then ignore them the rest of our days. Responding, when called, and being interrupted is the part of being a servant which can be the hardest. In service, means to live for others, the worst and the best.

Jesus is confronted by a mother who wants the best for her sons. She has watched them walk away from home and tradition. She wants only the assurance of their safety. Jesus responds to her, and afterwards to the angry disciples, that being first means being last. They are to be servants, caring for the least they encounter. Noone was satisfied by his responce, nor are we, if we are reallt honest. Yet, we are called to serve. And in serving, we are promised the blessings and honor of the greatest.

Today I ask God to help me be a servant. May we all joyfully serve, knowing in doing so we will find the heart of God.