Greatness in Service (Wednesday, Week 8, Year 1, 2021)

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Prayers are not just petitions offered to God. Sometimes, they can serve as a kind of exhortation for ourselves. In that sense, we pray not to change God but to exhort ourselves for transformation and change.


In Sirach 36:1-2.5-6a.11-17, the people of Israel is portrayed as praying that God may let other nations know as they have known that there is no God but Him; that all who are on the earth may know that He is the God of the ages. Just as many of us do, maybe the people of Israel expected God to perform ground-shaking signs and wonders to prove to the nations that He is God. They might not have taken note of the fact that the most convincing sign of all signs is a life of righteousness, sacrifice and service.


From Christ’s own perspective, it is only in such life (life of sacrifice and service) that true greatness can be found. Jesus is truly great not just because He walked on the sea or healed the sick or raised the dead or fed thousands of people with few fish and bread and so on. He is truly great because He SERVED and gave His life as a ransom for many (cf. Mk. 10:45). I am sure it must have been very difficult for His disciples to grasp this point.


It shouldn't come to us as a surprise that many people no longer want to see mere signs and wonders in order to believe. In these times, people want to pierce through the curtain of theatricals in order to see and embrace authenticity. I have got used to living my life not to IMPRESS but to EXPRESS and sufficiently prove that I serve the true God. It is not by “showing-off” how powerful our God is (through “signs” and “wonders”) but by proving that such power can also be seen and felt in acts of humble service and sacrifice.  


Prayer:

Lord, may my life be a good reflection of your greatness and love, Amen!


Have a blessed day!



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