Monday of Holy Week

Monday of Holy Week : Servant of the Lord

"The greatest among you must behave as if he were the youngest, the leader as if he were the one who serves. For who is the greater : the one at the table or the one who serves? The one at the table, surely? Yet, here am I among you as one who serves!"

Externally, there are many ways to serve the Lord. We serve by standing up for justice, and by fighting for the rights of the oppressed and underprivileged. We serve by "opening the eyes of the blind," by educating those who live in the darkness of ignorance and fear. We serve by letting the light of the gospel shine in the world through our own lives. We do not necessarily have to "cry out or shout aloud," or make our voices heard in the streets. Often the work of peace progresses quietly, and the servant of peace and justice goes unnoticed. A "servant of the Lord" must even be willing to suffer for the sake of justice, rather than commit injustice for some good cause. Service comes in great variety of external forms, but centrally, there is only one criterion by which we measure its value : Love. If we love God and our neighbor, even if no one knows or cares, or even if others accuse us of wrongdoing, we are still faithful servants.♥

P.S.
Sin is the enemy of love. We do not begin with big sins,but with "just a little," or "just one time." If we continue down this path without repentance, we choke off our own capacity to love. We end up replacing love for God and love for the poor with a twisted love of self. When we sin, we take for ourselves, but when we love, we give of ourselves. Love is the inner motivation of a true "servant of the Lord."♥