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Rev.
Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.
TRUE
GREATNESS CAN NOT BE FOUND IN DOMINATION BUT IN SACRIFICE, DEDICATION AND HUMBLE
SERVICE TO OTHER
To be
great is one of the desires of every human person, it is that which makes us to
utilize the unique gift God has given us, from
which we serve Him and our neighbours responsibly. However, human greediness and selfishness have made us
to see greatness as domination and subjection of others in a competitive and
comparative manner. Today as we celebrate the feast of St. James, we heard in our Gospel passage how the
disciples of Jesus were struggling with this competitive and comparative
attitude.
This
is because the mother of Zebedee’s sons came with her sons to make a request
from Jesus saying, ‘Promise that these two sons of mine may sit one at your
right hand and the other at your left in your kingdom.’ And Jesus answered,
‘You do not know what you are asking’. ‘Can you drink the cup that I am going
to drink?’ They replied, ‘We can.’ ‘Very well,’ he said ‘you shall drink my
cup, but as for seats at my right hand and my left, these are not mine to
grant; they belong to those to whom they have been allotted by my Father.”
So,
other disciples became angry because James and his brother John through the
intercession of their mother desired to have key leadership positions in the
kingdom of our Lord Jesus. But Jesus let them know that the transcendent power
and authority to lead belong to God and whoever He wishes to share it with.
Here,
Jesus prophesied that James and his brother John would "drink of the same
chalice" of suffering as himself, since the two brothers had asked to be
seated at his right and his left in his kingdom, and he told them that they
would be with him in a far different way than they expected.
Thus,
James suffering martyrdom for the sake of the kingdom, for he was beheaded in
Jerusalem at the orders of Herod Agrippa. His death is the only biblical record
we have of the death of one of the Apostles, and he was the first to give his
life for his Master. He embrace true greatness not by domination and
subjection, but, in service, sacrifice and dedication to the faith he has found
in Jesus which he wishes to share with others.
So,
today we celebrate the feast of a great man, who along with his brother John
and Peter was part of the inner circle of Jesus. So like St. James, we are
encouraged to seek true greatness in humility of service and sacrifice even at
the point of losing everything.
And St. Paul also encouraged us in our first
reading to be steadfast for we are affiliated in every way, but not crushed;
perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck
down, but not destroyed. Knowing that true greatness is found in humble service
and not in domination or subjection of others. For good leaders serve the
community, they subdue arguments and divisions, they maintain unity in times of
distress and act as role models for the young just like St. James.
Dear
friends, today, we all are called to seek true greatness in humble service of
other and not in subjection and domination of others. We are called to utilize
the unique gift God has given us and use it to serve Him and our neighbours
responsibly in any capacity we find ourselves, bearing in mind that one should
not strive to be a leader but a servant because leadership is a gift from God.
Remember, true greatness is found in our sacrificial service to others, not in
competitive and comparative subjection and domination of others.
LET US
PRAY: Lord God, you have taught us that true greatness is found in the
sacrificial service to humanity, give us the grace to live a life of sacrifice
and humility. And through the intercession of St. James my our lives be a good
example of true greatness. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Wishing
you a fruitful day.
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