Evening Reflection - Are We Ready To Serve?

Monday of the Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time. Year II (Feast of Saint James). 

Reflection by Rev Fr Oselumhense Anetor (Uromi Diocese)

Are We Ready To Serve?

2 Cor.4:7-15; Matt.20:20-28

Nigerians love titles. For instance, one Knight in the Church may love to be addressed as Sir, Chief, Dr. Barr., Sylvester Okueka, CON, CFRN, JP, OON, ESQ. We want to be served and respected. 

But Jesus teaches that we should rather serve others, since leadership in the Church means selflessness and service. St John, though he was head of the Church in Jerusalem, was beheaded by King Herod Agrippa I, just to please the Jewish opponents of Christianity. Can you imagine? And God allowed it.

Friends, in the end, what matters is not the positions we rise to here on earth, it's how willing we are to give up our heads for the sake of the gospel. It's about letting our inner light shine, no matter how weak we are. Difficulties should not corner us, trying situations should not lead us to despair, persecutions mustn't make us feel deserted; we carry in our clay bodies, Jesus our treasure. We must let him lead us. Being Pope, Cardinal, Bishop, or priest isn't a guarantee of salvation if we're not willing to serve.

Good Evening Friends. God Bless The Rest Of Your Week. St James, Pray For Us!