Serve If You Want To Be Great

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

St. Alphonsus Catholic Church, Brooklyn Center, MN

Sunday, September 19, 2021

Our world is made of two rooms: in one room, people do things for themselves, in the other, people need others to do things for them. In one room, people give and never get tired of giving. In the other, people simply take and sometimes offer no gratitude. In one room, people humbly and joyfully serve others, in the other, people basically wait to be served and attended to. In today’s Gospel (Mark 9:30-37), Jesus baffles his disciples who are discussing among themselves on the way who is the greatest by telling them that the greatest is actually the one who serves. In our human way of thinking, the greatest among us is the one who is served, who gives orders and wields a lot of power. But for Jesus, the greatest is the one who gives his or her time in the service of others. In the calculation of the world, great people are those who sit in positions of authority and rule according to their whims and caprices, but not so for the Lord. The greatest among us are people who find delight in attending to the needs of others. Who are these people? When we have parish events, who usually are the last to leave? The ones who serve. When we were sanitizing the church after each Mass who made that possible? The ones that serve. When a large family gathers for a family reunion, who are usually the last to leave the event? The ones who serve. At every Mass, who are most likely to come to Mass early and be the last to leave? Those who serve. Each time volunteers are needed in the parish to help organize and carry out some events, who step forward to help? Those who serve. These servant-Christians are those who join ministries in the parish like choir, lector, altar server, children liturgy, faith formation, youth ministry and others. Although they are busy, their plate is full like everyone, nevertheless they make out time for God and what pertains to God. Some of us may not value their services, but Jesus said they are the greatest. 

For the rest of us who have become consumerist Christians, we come to church expecting to be served. We come to church to consume. During Mass, we expect the lectors to read audibly with clarity and distinction. We expect the choir to sing well and to sing our favorite songs. We expect the priest to preach well and to talk about the issues we care about. We expect ushers to receive us well and to find seats for us. We expect others to get things done and done well, but we are not ready to lift a finger to volunteer and help. When there is a call at Mass for people to join the choir, we give excuses: “I can’t sing.” “Oh, you don’t wanna hear me sing; I have a terrible voice.” When Lectors try to recruit us, we make excuses: “I have an accent.” “I can’t stand up there and read. I have a stage-fright problem.” When the ushers try to recruit us, we give another excuse: “I work so hard that whenever I come to Mass, all I want to do is to sit. I get so tired that I don’t have the strength to be moving around.” When Extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion invite us to join them, we deliver another excuse: “I am not worthy; I am so sinful to touch the Lord. I am sorry, I can’t do it.” If we are invited to join a ministry in the church, we give excuses yet again: “I don’t have time. My job is too demanding.” There is every excuse for every group we are invited to join and for everything we are asked to do. In the end, we reduce ourselves as Catholics who only come to Mass simply to consume and to be served. We are not involved in the life and ministry of our church. From year to year, we only come to Mass and leave once it is over. Yet, we wonder why no one knows us in our parish. 

Sisters and brothers, we cannot change our community simply by coming to church, but being church. If coming to Mass and be served and attended to is all you do, then you are making church all about you. If all you do is simply come to Mass, consume, come again and consume more—coming and consuming, coming and consuming, we make ourselves irrelevant. If we are not giving enough of our time, talent and treasure in the service of God and the Church, then we are not being relevant. Service makes us relevant and great. And guess what? You don’t need a bachelor’s degree to serve. You don’t need a master’s degree to serve. You don’t need a PhD to serve. What is required is a willing, humble and gracious heart. Jesus tells us in today’s Gospel that whoever wants to be the greatest must be the last and the servant of all. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “Everybody can be great, because anybody can serve.”

To illustrate the ministry of service to his Apostles, Jesus brought before them a child and said, “Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but the One who sent me.” Children belong to the room of those who need others to do things for them.  The unnamed child in the Gospel stands for all God’s children who need others to do things for them. The child stands for the most vulnerable in our midst, the poorest of the poor, those who have nothing to give to us except their problems, and those who depend on us for their sustenance. The child stands for grandma and grandpa who due to old age and sickness rely on the rest of the family and society to cater for them. Jesus tells us that they need love and care. And whoever treats them well, treats the Father and Jesus well. The greatest among us is not the most powerful. The greatest among us is not the wealthiest. The greatest among us is not the person who wields more power and authority. The greatest among us are individuals who serve others and look out for little guys. History always remembers those who served, who gave their lives for others, who used everything they have in the service of God and humanity. If you want to be considered great by Jesus, just serve. And when we serve, we receive something that money cannot buy.