“I did not come to be served but to serve,” we hear Jesus declare after two of his disciples, James and John, asked to be seated at his right and his left when he established his kingdom. It sounds as if even his closest followers did not understand the Gospel that Jesus had come to proclaim – or, at least, they were unwilling to accept it. Like the Jewish leaders whom we hear Malachi condemn in today’s first reading and Jesus condemn in our Gospel, they were more interested in receiving honor and respect than in serving as Jesus was teaching them, both by his word and example. Like Adam and Eve, they wanted to be equal to God. And yet, as we hear in today’s first reading, there is only God and he is our creator, and he alone is to be feared among the nations. Jesus makes it very clear in today’s Gospel account that we have but one teacher and Master; we are all called to be his disciples.
Have you ever wondered why God chose to have his son born in the obscure village of Bethlehem of a woman from a very poor family living in a country oppressed by an imperial power? Wouldn’t it have made more sense for God to come among us as the son of a powerful pharaoh or king or emperor? He would then have the family background and natural resources to spread God’s message so much more easily. But, God’s choice of the poor woman Mary giving birth to his son in Bethlehem, of having Jesus live in poverty and preach first to the poor and disenfranchised was deliberate. It was intended to demonstrate that, before God, we are all poor and that it is those who recognize that they are of humble estate in God’s eyes who are more likely to accept the Gospel. That’s why Christianity didn’t flourish in ancient Jerusalem or Athens or Rome but in small towns and villages far from the worldly powerful. The same is true today, isn’t it? As Christianity declines in the prosperous countries of Western Europe and here in America, it is thriving in the poorer regions of the world, where the people of humble standing seem to be more able to grasp the Gospel message. Despite what some people might think, the percentage of the world’s population that is Catholic hasn’t changed at all in the past 20 years; it has remained steady at 17%. But, it has shifted from the prosperous countries to the poorer countries of the world.
In today’s Gospel, we our Lord, teach that “whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” We who come before our God, humbling ourselves before the one whom we acknowledge as our creator and Lord, we are called to share with others both the Gospel and our very selves, showing God’s love in person, as Jesus did, and as Paul did – as we hear in today’s second reading.
We all long to be exalted, that is, to be raised up into the glory of heaven. Let us listen carefully to Jesus’ words today as he teaches us an important aspect of the Gospel. We get to heaven by being servants here on earth, serving God by serving our neighbor. In just a few weeks, when we celebrate the last Sunday of our liturgical year, we will hear of the Son of Man separating those who showed God’s love by feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, caring for the ill from those who didn’t. We will have the opportunity to show God’s love in very practical ways over the next few weeks as we prepare to celebrate our Lord’s birth. As you will hear after communion and read in our Parish Bulletin, right here in our parish, you will be invited to participate in our annual Adopt-a-Family or Christmas Food Baskets or Mercy Hospice Giving Tree. Let us be the ones who inherit the kingdom God has prepared for us by our humble service of all of God’s loved ones.