Prayer: Now, O Lord, take my lips and speak through them;

Take our minds and think through them; Take our hearts and set them on fire with love for Yourself, Lord Jesus. Amen.

THE CALL TO SERVANTHOOD

2013 election is fast approaching and already we hear of different personalities espousing programs of services to the people when they are elected to office. There are the traditional politicians banking on the strength of their party machineries and money and the reform-minded who wants to do away with the old methods of clinging to power. Even if voters have gone cynical, we could elect our leaders based on the standards of Christian servanthood. With Gods blessings, perhaps we could influence the greater majority who are easily swayed. The call to servanthood is a clear teaching of the Scriptures. The Hebrew word for servants was first applied to slaves. Overtime the word was used for trusted servants who did important things for their Masters. The Hebrew word was also applied to those who served rulers. Kings and prophets were also called servants of the Lord. Later the word was applied to anyone serving God. The Bible has many excellent examples of godly servanthood. We have Joseph who could have punished his brothers for seeking to harm him. Instead, he forgave them. This allowed him to serve them and save his family from starvation. Moses,who unselfishly led the Israelites to freedom. Daniel, Esther, and David showed us how to serve the Lord in their respective ways. Dorcas who sewed garments for the poor, and Martha who served almost to a fault, or Paul who gave an entire life in service spreading the gospel of Christ whom He met years after He had ascended to Heaven. These and many others showed what it meant to do good deeds of kindness, sacrificing personal time and resources for others without ever expecting to be repaid. But it all started with the life of Christ - the one who has shown us the meaning of a true servant. Jesus took the form of a servant, while proclaiming the status as the Son of God the whole time, choosing to serve rather than be served. This is the example that we ought to live our lives after; the embodiment of Christian servanthood. When He washed the disciples feet, we saw what a Christian attitude is supposed to be - humbling oneself, disregarding status, and meeting the immediate needs of others.

During the present times, we still find people who practice true servanthood. We have the likes of Albert Schwietzer, a German-French medical missionary who built hospitals for the poor in Africa. Mother Teresa of Calcutta who tended to the poor and sick and founded The
Missionaries of Charity", whose primary task was to love and care for those persons nobody was prepared to look after . Why is Magsaysay well-loved by the Filipinos during his time? He was known for his simplicity and humility. The Ramon Magsaysay Award established to honor his legacy is given to persons - regardless of race, nationality, creed or gender - who address issues of human development in Asia with courage and creativity, and in doing so have made contributions which have transformed their societies for the better. Recently, we have Sec. Jesse Robredo whose passing was

mourned by many. He was a humble, honest and hardworking person. It was only then known when video clips of him as mayor of Naga showing him chatting with street vendors in T-shirt and slippers only. He was seen helping the garbage collectors collect the garbage around the city still in his T-shirt and slippers. He sought to inspire the ordinary people by honoring their contributions. In his speech before the Ateneo graduates, he talked of the dreams of the Grade 6 pupils of a remote mountain barangay school in Naga. Like all of us, they too wanted to be

somebody someday, he said. But, despite the deprivations and difficulties, they were all for a noble purpose to be of service to others which is the theme of UCM. In a sermon early in 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. quoted Jesus words from Mark 10 about servanthood. Then he said, Everybody can be great, because everybody can serve. You dont have to have a college degree to serve. You dont have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You dont have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve. . . . You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love. When Jesus disciples quarreled about who would get the places of honor in heaven, He told them: Whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many (Mark 10:43-45).

In a world that values power, wealth, influence, and personal rights; it is not easy to be a servant, when we are bombarded daily with the never ceasing commercial messages that appeal to our desires. The messages ring clear: we deserve a break today; we are worth it; we can be beautiful, athletic, or powerful. It is a simple, but consistent message-that we should serve our own needs or the needs of those we love dearly. Servanthood-placing the needs of others (even our enemies) above our own interests-is the opposite. Following in the steps of Jesus requires that we show unconditional love to all people, regardless of whether they deserve it, just as Jesus demonstrated to us. In 2 Corinthians 12:14b-15a).
Notice what Paul's attitude is. He says, I will very gladly spend for you everything I have and expend myself as well. If I love you more, will you love me less? That is, these Corinthians were not responding with love. The normal response of children to their parents' care is to love them. But even if the Corinthians do not, Paul says, I am still going to pour out everything for you. And he indicates that his love is an unqualified form of love. Here is a story illustrating this point . A mother who went down to breakfast one morning found a bill from her son lying beside her plate. He had written it out for her: Mowing the lawn P80.00 Drying the dishes P40.00 Raking leaves P120.00 Cleaning garage P160.00 Total owed P400.00 His mother did not say anything but went about her work. When the boy came home from school for lunch that day, he found a bill lying beside his plate. It said: Ironing clothes nothing

Mending socks nothing Cooking meals nothing Bandaging cuts nothing Baking cookies nothing Love, Mother That is the apostle's attitude. He does not expect anything in return. It would be nice if his efforts were reciprocated, but even if they are not, that is not going to stop him. That kind of selfless, unqualified love is the mark of a true servant of Christ. You can use it to test the claims of many voices today to determine whether they are the servants of Christ, because it is the invariable mark of those who genuinely love that they love without demanding something in return.

Matthew 23:11-12 But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whoever exalts himself shall be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. If you were to visit Paris, you could see the statues of two men, both named Louis. The first is of Louis XIV, France's absolute monarch. He represents one of the supreme achievements of greatness through power. His philosophy of life was that the whole nation and the world, should serve him. A few blocks away is another statue. There is no uniform on this figure carved in stone, no badge of office, no sword, no crown. It is a memorial to Louis Pasteur, a man whose life was unselfishly devoted to the research of immunization and disease prevention. The statue of the monarch, Louis XIV, is nothing more than a piece of sculpturewho even remembers what he did? But the statue of Louis Pasteur has become a place where pilgrims throughout all the world pay grateful homage for his great work; and every time we drink a glass of milk, we remember his name. That milk we're drinking has more than likely gone through a process called pasteurization, named after Pasteur's research. It is the uncrowned servant of mankind who wears the real crown of men's love and honor. Let's ask the Lord to help us become more humble and available to serve both Him and others. It is then that we will wear the true crown of glory! In conclusion, we should remember three important ideas for consideration 1)doing good deeds of kindness involves sacrificing personal time and resources for others without ever expecting to be repaid. 2)The Christian attitude is humbling of oneself, disregarding status, and meeting the immediate needs of others. 3) Following in the steps of Jesus requires that we show unconditional love to all people, regardless of whether they deserve it, just as Jesus demonstrated to us.