Once upon a time, there was a school who invited a distinguished band for their fundraising event. The concert was jam packed and all the spaces of the school were insanely filled up leaving behind tons of garbages. The following morning, despite the filth everywhere, the classes continued. At around 10 am, while the classes were on-going, there was an old beautiful lady who went straight to the school field, under the scorching heat of the sun, together with a stick broom, dust pan, and garbage bag and started cleaning the mess. The teachers and students looked intently on who this adorable lady was. Lo and behold it was the religious sister who was at the same time the principal of the school.
The story above reminds me of our gospel today (Luke 9: 18-22) wherein Jesus clarified Peter's profession "You (Jesus) are the Messiah of God " by explaining how the Son of Man will suffer greatly in carrying out this "Messiahship." In this way, Jesus corrected the mindset of His disciples that the Messiah (the anointed one or the one who is to come) would come in military power to free Israel and subjugate those who go against the Messiah's reign.
Jesus though the only begotten Son of God lovingly gave his entire being for service. The religious sister who was the school principal used her office not to elevate herself but knelt in humility that penetrated the hearts of people. It might be true that this noble way is not a cake-walk but it is worth the try. After all, we are all in this journey of following the God who chose to serve rather than be served. Amen.
TGIFY-Reflection #14
(Thank God It's Fri Yey!)
September 27, 2019