Today I started my first day of work for Camp Merciful. One of the activities we did was pray the Divine Mercy chaplet, which was later followed by a Lectio Divina on today’s gospel. If you did not have the chance to read the gospel just yet, don’t fret! Here is a snippet of it:
“The Son of Man is to be handed over to men and they will kill him, and three days after his death he will rise.”
But they did not understand the saying, and they were afraid to question him. They came to Capernaum and, once inside the house, he began to ask them, “What were you arguing about on the way?”
But they remained silent. They had been discussing among themselves on the way who was the greatest.
Then he sat down, called the Twelve, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servantof all.” (Mark 9:30-37)
(Full gospel can be found here: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/052218.cfm)
As I was reflecting on what I should write about, I thought that it would be fitting to share my reflection on this particular reading.
The first word that stuck out to me was “rise.” When I initially heard this word being read out loud, I wondered why such a simple word caught my attention. However, when the second word, “servant” was read, it didn’t take long to realize its significance and correlation between the two.
The Lord was reminding me that no matter how high a person goes up in their service – be that in ministry work or in community – they must always remember to be humble. To be a great disciple of Jesus does not necessarily mean to be the smartest, strongest, most knowledgeable person, but someone who is willing to be a loyal servant of Christ a-l-w-a-y-s. This means that they stay connected to Christ at all times. They may feel like they are better than everyone else, or even believe that they don’t need to include God in their life choices or decisions, but they soon realize the fault in this belief.
I thought that this gospel came at the perfect time; especially since I am returning to work for Camp Merciful a second time around. Even though I may have experience of working in this position as before, I know that there is always something new that I can learn and take away from my co-workers, the volunteers and even the participants of the camp. Also, after being in CFC-Youth for a decade now, it can be difficult to not let my pride take over my mind and my actions at times. I’m still in the process of learning how I can improve on comparing myself to others, as it can definitely make me question my personal abilities and what I can offer to God specifically.
With that being said, I was very touched by today’s gospel reading. I am thankful for Jesus speaking so closely to my heart and for reminding me the importance of having a servant heart in the mission. May I learn to be a more kind, loving and humble disciple of His.
Amen.
Danielle Lape