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Honesty and Service (29B)

Jerusalem-Notre Dame, 21st October 2006

 

 

1. Are you honest with yourselves?

Do you have courage to say: This is my wish?
What is your wish? What is your deepest dream?
Love? Money? Faith? Power? Sex? Chastity? Freedom? Knowledge?  What is my deepest dream? Am I honest with myself?  Or maybe I don’t speak frankly about my wish, because I’m ashamed of it.
James and John, the sons of Zebedee, they are speaking very frankly about their wish: “Grant that in your glory we may sit one at your right and the other at your left”. No hypocrisy. No simulation of personal holiness. No worry about reputation. Just the honesty: We want you to do for us whatever we ask for you”. And Jesus was not scandalized and not surprised. He asked. He listened to them. He explained.

Honesty. Don’t be afraid be honest with yourselves! Do not be afraid be honest with Jesus! God understands every wish and he can  purify, ennoble, and improve every dream.
This is amazing in the Gospel! The great but sincere sinner is better than Pharisee, a person of high moral and hypocritical standard.

2. The second word is about service.
“Whoever wishes to be great among you will by your servant”
What does mean “to serve”?
In Collins Dictionary we can read: if you serve your country, an organization or a person you do useful work for them.
Useful work. Was it useful work to ask Jesus about places in his glory? Was it useful work discuss about authority and power?
I don’t think so. The problem of the apostles and the problem of priests nowadays is the same. We love to do a lot of useless work.

I’m sorry for me and for my brothers in priesthood that we do so many things in our life that are no connection with the care of the people.
I’m sorry that we are looking for the first place not only in the kingdom of God in heaven, but also in the kingdom of people on earth.
I’m sorry because very often we don’t serve you but we wait to be served, to be exalted, to be greeted, and to be respected.
Help us, please, to be your servants, help us to be your slave, help us to understand the Gospel fo Christ.

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