What do you want to be when you grow up? That’s a question that we all faced at one time or another. Some probably wanted to be doctors or nurses. Some perhaps wanted to be a professional athlete. Still someone might have wanted to be an actor or singer. Have you ever noticed few children, if any, say they want to be a garbage collector? Fewer still might say they want to be the school custodian, or the person who makes up the beds in a hotel. Although each of these may not be a glamorous position, they do fulfill a needed purpose. When we are young, we want to stand out. We often dream of making it big, creating a vision for our future. But to our Lord Jesus, what matters is not our occupation so much as our Christian vocation.
Jesus never asks his disciples about their vision of what their lives might be like once he is departed. Instead, he leads the twelve on a journey of humility and service. Jesus leads and they follow. Our Lord teaches the twelve and us that in order to be counted first in God’s kingdom, we must become last of all and servant of all. Certainly, we dream about the future. Yet, blessed is the one who puts the needs of others above his own. Truly this one is counted first in heaven.
Prayer: Holy God, give us a servant’s heart, that we may follow Christ and tend to the needs of others. Amen.
In the Beginning 