"Jesus sat down, called the twelve disciples over to him, and said, "Anyone who wants to be great among you must be your servant, and anyone who wants to be first among you must be your slave."
Gospel of Mark
Mr. Anderson is a prominent business man living in a small town. He has a large family of seven children. One day he is told by his doctor that he has less than a year to live. He meets with his family to tell them.
Mr. Anderson's family is typical of many families. The oldest two sons are quite ambitious and want to make something of themselves. Two are a little rebellious. Perhaps they could be called the agitators of the family, mostly, not going with the flow. Two are complacent, and prefer not to get involved with family activities and plans. The youngest is somewhat of a laid-back character, and is construed by the older two brothers as lazy and irresponsible.
On hearing the news of their father, all were saddened. After a few days had passed, the oldest two sons approach their father and asked that all of his business interest be turned over to them as they were the best equipped to run the business and make it successful.
When the other family members heard about this, they were outraged and upset, and began to speak out against their two older brothers.
Mr. Anderson, on hearing about the problems that were beginning to surface, called his family together to speak to them. "I have only a few more months to live, he told them, and the only thing of importance to me at this point is my family. We are one. We are united by an inseparable bond that must never be broken. Work at discovering the special gift you are to each other. It is only there that you will discover your true treasure."
I'm not sure how things turned out with the Anderson family. But we do know how things turned out in the family about which the above Gospel reading from Mark was written.
Jesus met with his disciple family and reminded them: "You know out there in the world, things are handled in a certain way. Ambition, rebellion, complacency and laziness forces people to respond negatively to each other, often passing judgement, creating divisions and quarrels. But this must not happen to you. Anyone who wants to be great among you must be your servant, and anyone who wants to be first among you must be your slave."
It is very hard for us to think in these terms as expressed by Jesus. It's even harder for us to act out in this manner in our lives. And the only way that we can begin to think and act in this manner is to see that the treasure we are all looking for cannot be found in exterior and worldly behaviors. It can only be found in unity, and the bonds of love that are created as we reach out in love to each other. Our motivation comes from the promises of Christ, and the movement of His Holy Spirit in our lives.
One of the greatest agitators in our Christian history was St. Paul. He was feared for his ruthlessness and his attacks on other Christians. Yet through Christ, he became one of the greatest Christian messengers, and was largely responsible for the spread of Christianity in the world of his time. One of the most rebellious and pleasure seeking Christians in our history was St. Augustine, who after experiencing Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit, became one of the leading teachers and authorities in the ways of God.
When we accept Christ's call to serve, and leave the rest to God, then good things begin to happen; but when we follow our own ambitions and plans, and insist on our own way, it is then that divisions and animosities arise.
What is our greatest treasure? It is not the worldly attributes of our false selves. It's something internal, something that allows us to see that we are all in some way connected, held together in a bond of love that can only be discovered in God. When we discover this treasure, we are willing to let go of our false selves to become immersed in that love that unites us all.
It takes a while to discover this treasure, as it did for St. Paul and St. Augustine, but when we do, everything changes. We are no longer ambitious, rebellious, complacent, or lazy. We become servants of Christ.
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