life on the playground is tough

My Dearest Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

Today’s gospel reading (Matthew 20:20-28) reminds me of the school playground when I was in elementary school. It seem like one kid was always the king of the playground and the rest of the kids regarded him as the ruler. Once somebody took charge, every other kid wanted to be his second in command. The apostles John and James were no different. They were beginning to realize that Jesus was the head of the playground, the Messiah, and they wanted to position themselves at the right and left hand of the new head of the playground. Jesus asks them if they can handle the pressure. He tells them that it won’t be easy being his follower and that life on the playground is tough. They tell Jesus not to worry, that they can handle the playground. When the rest of the apostles hear that John and James are jockeying for position, they get just a little upset. So Jesus calls them all around to explain the rules of the playground. He tells them: “that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you; but whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave.” Jesus was sent to this earth to be our Lord and savior, not to lord over us. To be at the right hand of the Father, we must not be the master but be the slave. We must be willing to do for others. We must be willing to make great sacrifices for the benefit of those in need. Just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, we too must take on a life of service for others. Jesus’ service to mankind was exemplified in all his actions and his teaching. His mission was one of enduring love and compassion for all man, not just those that believed. He reached out to the sick and to the sinner; to the Jew and the Gentile. Jesus lets us know that for us to have any true authority, we must sit in the back and humble ourselves to those that need us. He tells us that we must be last to be first. God gives each of us so many graces not so we can hold these powers over people, but so we can use these powers to create the Kingdom of God right here on earth. We must be a community for others. We must be willing to be generous with our gifts, our talents and our time for everything that we own was given to us from by God above. Even the life that we breathe is a gift from God. We do not own anything. We may not always be popular and we may not always be seen as the king of the playground, but we will always be loved by our Father in Heaven. Are you willing to commit to God? Are you willing to drink from the same sacrificial cup? For us, the sacrificial cup means a daily commitment to Christ, daily prayer, a daily renewal of our faith and most of all, service to others.

A Simple Prayer (or Song) Lord, Jesus, make me a servant; humble and meek. Lord let me lift up those who are weak; And may the prayer of my heart always be - Make me a servant.

Yours in Christ Michael Marcon