Wednesday 11 February 2015

Thursday of the 4th Week of Easter

It is interesting to see how some people try so hard to show how talented, how smart, how great, how clever or how resourceful they are. Such people do so to gain recognition, get the attention of others, perhaps rub shoulders with people who could be of use to them, and also to feed their pride and ego. But if we ponder for a moment: Why do we need to try so hard to show off? What are we trying to prove? Who are we really serving?

In today's Gospel, Jesus reminds us: "I tell you most solemnly, no servant is greater than his master, no messenger is greater than the man who sent him. Now that you know this, happiness will be yours if you behave accordingly." Jesus is inviting us to question our motives in serving others. Sometimes, in our zeal and efforts to serve, we may actually be serving ourselves. This happens when we try to gain glory for what we do, and try to lord it over others, thinking that they are not up to our standards or our expectations.

Let us be mindful of who we are, for we are merely servants and Jesus is the Master. When we acknowledge this fact and do our duty for the glory of God, then happiness will be ours, since we do not need to worry about losing our popularity or prestige. If we really are skillful, talented or capable, we do not need others to praise us or tell us how good we are, since these are gifts from God and we should thank and give praise to God for such gifts.

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