The Suffering Servant

A Jewish theologian once asked Jesus, "What is the most important commandment?" Jesus' answer was clear and concise: "You must love your God as the one and only Lord - with your whole heart, soul, mind, and strength." Jesus however was quick to add without being specifically asked, "But the second most important commandment is, 'Love others as much as you love yourself.'" There is no commandment greater than these two" (Mk 12:28-31). That is why Paul says that he will be completely happy only if his Christians were to be loving towards and caring for one other, even considering others more important than themselves. This would demonstrate that they knew what Jesus taught and how he lived and that they had therefore his same thoughts and attitudes (Phil 2:1-5).

For though Jesus was truly God, he did not try to remain equal with God. On becoming one of us, he gave up everything and became a slave (cf Heb 2:14,17). He was born in a working class family so that people would later on comment, "Isn't he the son of Joseph the carpenter?" Though he expected his parents to know that even as a boy of twelve he would be in his Father's house and about his Father's business, he went back with them and was obedient to them (Lk 2:49,51). It was also out of obedience to God and service to man that he suffered and was crucified. God therefore gave him the highest place and honoured his name above all others (Phil 2:6-11). It was from his own experience then of being servant and of being of service, that Christ taught his disciples not only to pray (the vertical dimension of discipleship) but also to serve (the horizontal dimension of discipleship).

Once when his disciples were disputing among themselves about which one of them was the greatest, Jesus said categorically, "If you want the place of honour, you must become a slave and serve others!" (Mk 9:33-35). According to Matthew, the disciples themselves asked Jesus who would be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. In answer he called a child over, had him stand near him, and said, "Unless you change by becoming like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. But if you are as humble as this child, you are the greatest in the kingdom of heaven (Mt 18:1-4).

On another occasion when John and James requested Jesus to reserve for them the best seats in his kingdom, he told them off and instructed his disciples, "You know that those foreigners who call themselves kings, like to order their people about. And their leaders have full power over the people they rule. But don't act like them. If you want to be great, you must be the servant of all the others. And if you want to be first, you must be everyone's slave. For the Son of Man has not come to be a slave master but a slave, ready to give his life to rescue many (Mk 10:35-45).

We may not all be called to imitate the Lord by being willing Martyrs, but we are all called to imitate him by being Good Samaritans, not making social service a means of escapism from our duties or problems, but out of real concern towards those with pressing needs in family or community (Lk 10:25-37), though the Lord may call some of us to more specialized ministries, e.g., to drug addicts, to alcoholics, to prisoners or pro-life. However In both ordinary and extraordinary ministry or service, the Lord expects us to be not necessarily successful but always faithful, as Mother Theresa often stated, even to the extreme, - like the woman who poured out all that very expensive sweet-smelling perfume on Jesus, - a sheer waste and incredibly stupid in the eyes of the world, but in the eyes of Jesus himself something beautiful that needed to be proclaimed to all (Mk 14:3-9).

Once when Jesus went up on a mountain to pray, with he took Peter, John and James with him. There they saw how glorious the earthly Jesus was in comparison even with the heavenly glory of Moses and Elijah who appeared with Jesus. This experience made Peter feel so good and that when they were about to leaving he stopped and said, "Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us make three shelters one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah." without But he did not know what he was saying. (Lk 9:33). Like those three apostles we too would rather may prefer to remain on the mountaintop in prayer and enjoy some peace away from the maddening crowd, and than be reluctant to come down to the plains to be surrounded and harassed by God's people.

But remember Jesus and the twelve too had so many demands made on them by the people that they did not have a chance to eat nor were they left alone to get some much needed rest (Mk 6:31-34). The burdens of people will cause us to be concerned, as it happened to Mary the handmaid at the wedding feast of Cana, even when 'it does not directly concern us', and will draw us to do something about it, like Christ the 'suffering servant' did, even when it may not be 'our time' (Jn 2:3-5).

How then will the Lord judge each one of us on the last day? His judgment will be very scathing and unequivocal. "Not everyone who calls me their Lord will get into the kingdom of heaven, but only the ones who obey my Father. On the Day of Judgment many will call me their Lord and brag, 'Did we not preach in your name? Did we not cast out demons and perform many miracles in your name?' But I will tell them to their face, 'I will have nothing to do with you! Get out of my sight, you evil people!" (Mt 7:21-23). Just picture Jesus saying that he does not know these preachers and healers and, worse, calling them evildoers! to do something about it, like Christ the servant, even when it may not be 'our time' (Jn 2:3-5).

But Scripture also tells us what He will demand to know from each one of us on judgement day. Earth's final and Heaven's entrance public examination paper has leaked out. On the basis of the their answers he will divide people into two groups, saying to those on his left, "Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me to your home, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not visit and look after me." Then they will answer in shock, (the same shock that the rich man had when he saw himself in hell and the poor beggar in heaven - Lk 16:19-31), "Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?" And he will reply forthwith, "Whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, who are my brothers and sisters, you did not do for me."

In sharp contrast he will say to those on his right, "Come here to me, you are blessed to enter into the kingdom of heaven! For when I was hungry, you gave me something to eat, and when I was thirsty, you gave me something to drink. When I was a stranger, you welcomed me, and when I was naked, you gave me clothes to wear. When I was sick, you took care of me, and when I was in jail, you visited me." And they will ask in surprise wonder, "But, Lord, when did we give you something to eat when you were hungry, or something to drink when you were thirsty? When did we welcome you as a stranger or give you clothes to wear, or visit you while you were sick or in jail?" Then he will answer, "Whenever you did it for any of my people, no matter how unimportant they seemed, you did it for me." (Mt 25:31-40).

The greatest witness in our times of Christ's example and teaching on social concern and action was Mother Theresa. She witnessed not by preaching or by healing but by loving devoted service to the two most needy groups of people persons, who are at the beginning and at the end of life, - the newly born abandoned babies and the old dying destitutes. On the last day of the International Eucharistic Congress in Mumbai in 1964, Mother Theresa and her Missionaries of Charity were traveling in their van from their convent in my suburban parish of Vile Parle, where I was their chaplain, to the Oval grounds where Pope Paul VI was to celebrate the Eucharist. Suddenly they came across an abandoned dying destitute on the road. Mother stopped, picked him up and took him back to their home. That day they failed to see Christ's representative, the Pope, but they met someone greater - Christ himself, in the person of the destitute.

Jesus demonstrated this in an altogether unexpected and bewildering way at his last supper with the apostles. He washed their feet, both to show that he loved them to the very 'end', and also to explain in what manner he expected them to live as his followers. "If I, your Lord and teacher, have set you an example by washing your feet, you should do exactly the same for each other. For servants are not greater than their master" (Jn 13:1-17). Furthermore it is in this way that everyone would know recognize them to be his disciples - by no longer remaining just his servants in doing their duty without knowing their master's mind, but qualifying to be called his friends by imitating him (Jn 13:34-35,15:11-15). When Jesus charges Peter to feed and tend his sheep and lambs, he bids him to first to follow (i.e. imitate) him, (Jn 21:15-17,22): "Come, follow me and I will make you fishers of men (Mk 1:17).

The early Church obeyed the Lord's teaching and followed his example in an amazing way. None of them claimed that their possessions were their own but they shared everything they had with each other, like the poor widow who put into the temple treasury everything she had - her whole livelihood (Mk 12:41-44). They would sell their land or houses and bring the money to the apostles, who would distribute it to anyone who needed it. Consequently, no one went in need of anything (Acts 4:32-35). For, as Paul enjoined them to do, they were concerned for others and cared about them, considering them more important than themselves, thus demonstrating that they had the same thoughts and attitudes of their master (Phil 2:1-5).

Finally, Jesus in his farewell discourse revealed to his disciples that it was to make them as completely happy as he was, that he was giving them his new commandment, to love each other one another AS he had loved them, and the greatest and best way for them to show that love was to be ready prepared to even die for them as he did. In this way everyone would know them to be his disciples. If we are therefore prepared to obey the Lord, even in the service of martyrdom, then we no longer remain just his servants, doing our duty without knowing our master's mind, but we qualify to be called his friends to whom he has made known out of love everything that his Father has told him (Jn 13:34-35,15:11-15).

Such a servant-friend of Jesus was Fr. Maximilian Kolbe who gave his life in service of God and man, because in him was the same Spirit that God had given to Jesus his chosen servant (Mt 12,18). When Jesus charges Peter to feed and tend his sheep and lambs, he then bids him to first to follow (i.e. imitate) him, (Jn 21:15-17,22): "Come, follow me and I will make you fishers of men (Mk 1:17); a following which implies even being hated by all, by one's family too, for his name's sake - for a servant is not above his master (Mk 13:12-13). And so Peter himself would later say, "God chose you to suffer as you follow in the footsteps of Christ, who set an example by suffering for you" (1Pet 2: 21). May our constant prayer therefore be:

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