Queen's Servant: Homily #200: Christ the Diakonos (Servant) Shows Us How To Serve (Mk. 10)

#200a (12 p.m. Mass)

Christ the Diakonos Shows Us How to Serve (Mk. 10)

Homily #200

29^th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Oct. 17, 2021

12pm & 5 pm Masses

by Deacon Dennis Purificacion

I give thanks to Almighty God for the privilege of preaching Homily #200 today. Te agredecemos por Dios todo poderoso. Salamat sa Diyos. Cảm ơn bạn. Gam sa ham nida. (Doj je) Xie Xie. Thank you.

Please allow me this brief reflection of gratitude. Most of these 200 homilies were written for St. Catherine’s, and they include 143 baptisms, along with some funerals and marriages. When reflecting on the top 3 themes that I tend to talk about, I tend to talk about Mary a lot. Sometimes I think people say, “Oh great, here comes that deacon talking about Mary all the time, and Fatima again, and how the Immaculate Heart is tied to what is happening in the world today.” I’ve also talked about the Eucharist and Sunday Mass, the need to practice a sacramental life like Confession, protecting innocent human life and marriage, God’s Commandments and the lives of the saints and mystics.

But perhaps this is fitting to reflect on service and ministry because of today’s Gospel on Christ the Servant from St. Mark Chapter10. Christ the Deacon shows us how to serve: First, Christ serves with his words; second, Christ serves with his actions; and third, Christ serves through his saints.

First, Christ the Deacon shows us how to serve with his words. Jesus taught, “For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.” The Greek word “to serve” in Verse45 on the Son of Man coming to serve is “diakonesai” and in the previous Verse43 the Greek word for “servant” is diakonos.

It is fine and good to meditate on Christ the Priest, but now we reflect on Christ the Diakonos. After all, in today’s Second Reading from the Letter to the Hebrews, it is written, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has similarly been tested in every way yet without sin” (Heb. 4). Jesus the Servant literally rolls up his sleeves and enters into the everyday life of a slave.

Think about the irony of this! I am supposed to serve God, yet God said that He came to serve … me … and to die for me? I’m the one who is supposed to serve this great King and wash His feet, yet he stoops into my world with all its imperfections? He says to me and you today, “I’ve come to serve… you.” I come to wash your feet. I’ve come to love you. Let me wash your feet. Let me love you, my beloved. Let me, your King, die for you.

Jesus the Servant serves with a merciful love, a loving-kindness. In today’s Responsorial Psalm, “Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you,” biblical scholars note that the word “mercy” (chesedin Hebrew) in the Psalms is different. It doesn’t just mean a forgiving mercy but it means a kind “merciful love”. Mercy is the same as God’s love. God’s diakonos is mercy and love. What an awesome God we serve! He says, “I come not to be served but to serve…”

Second, Christ the Diakonos shows us how to serve with his actions, he isn’t just the Servant; He is the Suffering Servant. Christian service means the Cross. We hear proclaimed in the First Reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah, [T]hrough his suffering, my servant shall justify many, and their guilt he shall bear.” Christ teaches us that this action to serve come with sacrifice and hardship. In fact, when you serve according to God’s will, then you’re going to encounter trials and hardship. It’s like prayer: If you’re doing your prayer right, then you’re going to be distracted. That’s what the devil wants: To distract us, to get us to not serve and place our gifts at the service of others. He wants to interrupt us from serving God. But love hurts. Christ the Suffering Servant shows us how to love all the way to the Cross.

Third, Christ the Deacon shows us how to serve practically today through his saints. Jesus said, “[W]hoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant.” I’m reminded here of a popular phrase by John F. Kennedy, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.” In a sense, we can say the same of the Church. Ask not what the Church can do for you, but what you can do for the Church. Yes, it is important to come to church and be fed with the Word and the Eucharist, but the consciousness or the awareness here is a type of intentional discipleship. Having been loved by Jesus, then be Jesus to others! We are successful when everyone in the Church – the evangelized -- become evangelizers. When we come not to be ministered to but to minister. The saints served because they knew in their hearts that they were loved by God.

Mother Teresa for instance gave a simple smile to others, even when she didn’t feel God’s presence for many decades. St. Thomas More stood for religious freedom and conscience protection, even when most of the cowardly bishops of his time did not speak out against injustice. St. Thomas More said, “I die the King’s good servant; but God’s first.” Only one bishop, St. John Fisher, spoke out to protect religious liberty of the Flock. St. Katherine Drexel and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton took care of minority poor children of color and protected the God-given rights of parents as the first educators of their children. Parents, not the state or even the Church, determine what their children learn. St. Oscar Romero and St. Jose Sanchez del Rio in Latin America who spoke out against government persecution of the Church, families and the poor when their jobs and income were threatened. Or St. Catherine our patroness cleaned up the corruption among the clergy and the papacy in her time. And finally, St. Ignatius Loyola served because he said, “If the saints could serve God, then why can’t I?” Take courage, for you see, God writes straight with crooked lines. He doesn’t just call the qualified; he qualifies the called to serve. So do not be afraid to serve.

In summary, there were three points from today’s Gospel on Christ the Servant:

First, Christ the Deacon shows us how to serve through his words. “I came not to be served but to serve…”

Second, Christ the Deacon shows how to serve through his actions to the Cross. “Through his suffering, my servant shall justify many…”

Third, Christ the Deacon shows us how to serve through His saints and martyrs. “Whoever wishes to be great will be your servant.”

May we too know deep in our hearts how much God loves us, so we can love and be a servant to others. “For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.”