Daily Reflection _ sunday of 29th week OT


MISSION OF OUR CHURCH  
In recent years and in our modern day, have you noticed something missing in political campaign speeches? Candidates invariably talk about family values, concern for the elderly, education, and poverty. They make huge promises, assuring our well being. These campaigns of "promise making," aim almost exclusively at our needs and desires. What is often missing is a call to service. We can think of the famous quote from John Kennedy's 1961 inauguration, "And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country."
When the only question is, "What's in it for me?", then we are usually suffering from developing spiritually? Jesus pointed His eager disciples toward the maturity of the person who has developed a heart to serve. This weekend is World Mission Sunday. We, as a Christian people, have a responsibility to serve as Jesus did. To heal a broken world we, as a community of faith, should be assisting the mission of the Universal Church in spreading the Gospel message and feeding each other on God's Word. Now this does not happen automatically. I just read recently about three stages we should ponder on. These stages can be helpful as we strive to move towards a greater maturity, which in turn, will strengthen us as we put it into action.
We begin with the first stage of life. As infants and toddlers we are totally dependent on others for nourishment. Without those who cared for us, we would have died. This is also true spiritually. In our earliest years we were dependent on others for the nutrition that developed our spirits. If we love, it is because someone first loved us. If we become morally discerning - people of character - it is because someone helped to build a trustworthy foundation in us. If we've come to know our heavenly Father, it is because others have pointed us in that direction.
Saints James and John, the sons of Zebedee, had followed Jesus. However, it's obvious that they misunderstood what He was about. They envisioned Jesus becoming a new King David and they wanted to capitalize on their relationship with Him. They said to Him, "Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask of You" (Mk 10:35b). This statement alone is clear evidence of their immaturity. Sadly, though, we often say essentially the same thing. We focus on what our identity as Christians can do for us and we approach God primarily when we want something for ourselves.
Following the first stage begins the time in life when we begin to feed ourselves. This starts as a very messy period. Food ends up everywhere except where it was intended! Hand-to-mouth dexterity gradually improves and in adolescence it becomes not only automatic, but also constant! So it is spiritually. Life becomes more and more about one's own personal journey. We begin to assume some responsibility for our own nature. We eventually decide for ourselves what, among all the options in our environment, we will choose to feed our inner life.
We see James and John asking for top level positions in Jesus' coming Kingdom, and they obviously handled it in a childish manner. Jesus said, "You do not know what you are asking" (Mk 10:38). His patience with James and John endured because He was sympathetic of their limited understanding. They did not yet know the nature of the cup He would drink or of the destiny for which He had been born. But they did see!
Finally, there is a time in our lives when we must feed others. What a splendid transition, when the one being nurtured becomes the nurturer! It is also a critical development because the alternative is tragic to consider. It is critical, physically and spiritually, lest we become stagnant or our hearts become tight knots of selfishness; lest living becomes mere existing. We must develop hearts that are willing to serve.
In this world, Jesus warned us that the greatest people would appear to be those who rule over others. In the Kingdom of God, however, the greatest are those who serve others. "Whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all" (Mk 10:43 - 44). Jesus used Himself as an example. He was the Messiah, the Son of Man, yet He came "not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many" (Mk 10:45).
Spiritual maturity means growing out of our passive voice, which means being served, into an active voice that is heard in serving others. The call to serve, Jesus had taught us, is a beckoning away from death to life. The greatest joy in the world is reserved for the person who, like Jesus Christ, has a heart to serve throughout the mission of our Universal Church.