Servant of All

By RH

    Then He sat down, called the Twelve, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.” (Mark 9:35)

    We have all heard these words many times before. They are not easy to hear and certainly not easy to live. We have a tendency to want to be waited on, helped and given attention. We like being spoiled by others.

    So, how does one become ‘the servant of all’? We know of people who did just that; Mother Teresa, Maximillian Kolbe, Pope John Paul II, our grandparents, our parents, and others. How did they do it? How do you get to love someone so much that you would be a ‘servant’ to them, to do anything for them, to lay down your life for them?

    Married people, do you remember how you met your spouse? In many cases, he or she was a complete stranger. (It always amazes me how complete strangers find each other.) Yet, you got to know one another by talking, spending time together, and learning things about each other. Maybe it wasn’t love at first sight, but at some point you fell in love and decided that you wanted to spend the rest of your life together. This love came about because you got to know each other. Once you were in love, there was nothing you wouldn’t do for each other. This is being a ‘servant’ to one another.

    Parents, do you remember waiting for your child to be born? From the moment you knew you were pregnant, you thought about and planned for that child. When it was born, you were already so in love with that little baby that you would give your life for it. (And, sometimes it feels like you are dying for that baby because of the lack of sleep and the change it makes in your life.) But, you would not change a thing because you love this new person so deeply. This is being a ‘servant’.

    In the Catechism, we are asked “Why did God make you?” And, the answer is “God made me to know Him, love Him, and serve Him in this life and to spend eternity with Him in Heaven.” How do we do this? Again we need to spend the time to get to know God, Jesus and His Church. This can be done in prayer (praying and listening), study of the Bible (which, by the way, is a letter from God to you) and spending time to learn about Him. (God knows everything there is to know about you, but He wants you to tell Him about your life, anyway.) The more you get to know Him, the more you love Him, the more you would do anything for Him. Then, you will be His ’servant’, doing whatever He asks of you. And, when you love someone so deeply, even the hard jobs don’t seem so difficult.