Choose To Be Last

February 21, 2012

Tuesday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time

By Beth DeCristofaro

Beloved: Where do the wars and where do the conflicts among you come from? Is it not from your passions that make war within your members? … So submit yourselves to God. Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you of two minds. (1 James 4:1, 7-8)

Then (Jesus) sat down, called the Twelve, and said to them, "If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all." (Mark 9:35)

Piety

God of the poor, we long to see your face. You tell us, "Whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me." May we recognize you in each of our brothers and sisters. May our prayers and fasting unite us with those who hunger. May we share of our blessings with those in need. For farmers around the world who work to improve their harvests while practicing environmental stewardship, that they may earn a living from the produce of the land, we pray to the Lord. For our community of faith, that we recognize the face of Christ in each of our brothers and sisters, and reach out to assist those in need, we pray to the Lord. Amen. (www.crs.org )

Study

All my life I’ve had this struggle with authority. Growing up I’ve witnessed all models of “authority” in the world from democratically assigned to despotism to tyrannical murder to paranoid governments waging war in the name of peace. Of course I resisted my parents’ authority also, like any child growing to know how to live like a human being. But I also found that my parents’ authority was a shelter for me as when I could tell a friend, “No, I won’t sneak out to Georgetown with you, my dad would kill me.” So you might understand that I have my moments when I struggle with the authority of God.

In these readings it seems to me that God’s authority is being described much differently than human models. God’s authority became visible in the world through the loving servant, Jesus. It continues to be visible when Christians accept and act with humility and childlike innocence allowing God’s graces to come to life through us. Jesus chose a child to personify this posture not to say we should be ignorant of the world as a child is ignorant due to her limited life experience but rather to recognize the authority of God over all, everything, everybody in creation.

Lent gives us another opportunity to purify our hearts and bring together our two minds. Lent calls for us to place ourselves last through the vehicles of penance, prayer and fasting. Lent allows us to place God first and serve others as we see the face of Christ within them.

Action

What will our 40 days in the desert be like? For me, this will include obstacles of self-centeredness, authority and putting on humility. There are innumerable opportunities through our parishes and web sites (Creighton.edu online ministries for example). Perhaps one theme of our prayer can be to reconcile our two minds, love of world and love of God, so that we can draw closer to God and God can draw closer to us.