Deacon Tom Writes,
“How Low Can You Go?”
Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B
Remember the lyrics to Chubby Checker’s song, Limbo Rock? “Jack be limbo, Jack be quick, Jack go unda the limbo stick.” The idea was to contort yourself from one side of the “limbo stick” to the other. The challenge was to see “How low could you go?” We had a lot of laughs trying, but not too much success!
Today’s readings provide us with profound insight into the revolutionary nature of the Kingdom Jesus laid the foundation for during his ministry. It comes as the Apostles are arguing about who was the greatest, who would be first when this kingdom came to full stature. To their dismay, Jesus makes it clear that what he has in mind isn’t about choosing a CEO or EVP; rather, it’s about attracting servants. Jesus is challenging his followers to conduct their lives in such a way that to others they would appear to be “the slaves of all.” By their outward acts of service, Jesus’ followers would reject the vestiges of power and privilege that governed the prevailing society. For the Apostles, as for us, Jesus’ teaching that the rules that govern the Kingdom of God are vastly different than those we are accustomed was, and remains, quite a shock. In this world the great ones lord it over their subjects; in God’s realm, the greatest ones are the servants of all.
Jesus isn’t making small talk. We know from the way he lived and, especially, by the vicious death he suffered that he meant what he said about Servanthood. He was the faithful servant who came into our broken and troubled world to bring us the Good News of our Father’s love. It is a love that the Father intends for us to share with one another... willingly... graciously...indiscriminately.
It is in the spirit of Servanthood that Jesus takes on the role of the Suffering Servant who, in the words of Isaiah, “through his suffering…will justify many.” Most of us are not called to suffer the way Christ did, and thank God for that! But we are called to share the suffering our brothers and sisters in Christ experience today by being aware of their poverty, how they are victimized and exploited by our society and then to respond, as best we are able, as moved by the Holy Spirit. We share in Christ’s suffering when we put ourselves into these desperate situations and we stand there as a sign of God’s presence. We witness to God’s presence when we make the decision to cooperate with the abundant graces God has placed in our hearts. The lower you go to serve God’s children, the higher you rise in the Kingdom of God where Jesus tells us that “as often as you did it for one of my least brothers and sisters, you did it for me.”
St. Paul reminds us that Jesus experienced all of our human condition in their entirety. He suffered the abuse, rejection, ridicule of the people he came to redeem; he suffered the rejection of family who thought he was out of his mind; he suffered the loss of beloved friends. He suffered the injustice of capital punishment! He experienced the full spectrum of our human drama, and he did so willingly... “tested in every way” Paul writes. Why? Because of his great love for us. And, the Kingdom he sets in motion is that place, the only place, where the love we see in Christ’s life and death calls us to follow him by “giving our all” to being “servants of all.”
Enjoy the day!
Deacon Tom
Please Visit www.deaconspod.com and listen in as the three deacons engage in a contemporary conversation exploring the treasures our Catholic faith has to offer to those on the threshold, those thinking of joining our Catholic Community or walking away from it.
OTHER RESOURCE
Recommended Reading: A Consistent Ethic of Life - Navigating Catholic Engagement with U.S. Politics by Professor Steven P Millies. The consistent ethic of life is a fully Catholic engagement with the difficult challenges that conscience encounters in our time. This short book is a resource for parishes and general readers to rediscover the consistent ethic now in this challenging, divided moment of our history.
Tracing the historical development of the consistent ethic from the early 1970s up to recent days, A Consistent Ethic of Life encourages readers to adopt an attitude that calls them to be partisans for life above the partisanship of our politics.
Recommended YouTube Video: A Consistent Ethic of Life Presentation at Old Saint Mary’s, Chicago, Illinois. Listen in us for a powerful presentation by Professor Steven P Millies guide us on the longstanding doctrine of the Church and how we might begin to begin to turn the tide on the politics of polarization and division.
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