Becoming Servants

“If any one would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” And he took a child, and put him in the midst of them; and taking him in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me” (Mark 9:35ff).

In a very short time, you and I will spend a few days together in St. Augustine, Florida, building our team, prior to traveling to the Hogar Rafael. While we are there, we will share the love of God with any number of folks, most specifically the children of the orphanage. What a holy opportunity.

Notice in the passage from St. Mark’s Gospel the importance of being a servant. It is what we become, voluntarily, in following Christ. In fact, to follow Christ, we must become the servant of all.

At the Hogar, we take our Lord’s prayer from the Garden of Gesthemane and make it our own, “Not my will, but thy will be done”. In this case, “thy will” is the direction of God's stewards of the children--the Abbess and the nuns of the monastery, our hosts, the mothers of the children whom we are sent to love. Though we may grow weary, let us grow weary only in doing good. Though we may tire, let us tire by serving others.

Even now, may the Lord prepare us to be servants at the Hogar. To do what needs to be done for the sake of the children entrusted to our care—even though they are entrusted to us only for a short term.

And in so serving them, let us remember, that in receiving them, we receive our Lord Jesus Christ, and in receiving Jesus, we receive God the Father who sent Him.