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| Jesus Washing the Apostles' Feet |
Christian Attitude
The proper attitude of a follower of Jesus Christ is clearly written on every page of the New Testament: To be a servant to one another. As fallen human beings we have a desire for others to treat us with respect, honor, deference. Jesus taught us by His own sublime example, that this is wrong. He taught us that in His Kingdom the one who considers himself least is the greatest! As St. Basil the Great wrote: "Though He was in the bosom of His God and Father since before the beginning of time, He emptied Himself and took the form of a servant."
What is a servant? A servant is someone who is concerned about the needs of others rather than his on needs and who seeks not to receive respect but to give it to others. The paradox is that in this self-emptying (which we call metanoia) that we receive the highest possible honor: the Imitation of Christ our Savior!" - http://melkite.org/PRIMER.htm#Attitude
I have a hard time with this. I think most people do in our society. We can't seem to distinguish between being a servant and being a slave. Where is the line crossed? I don't know the answer, but I am pretty sure my mind tells me I am closer to the slave line more often than I really am. Hence, I could be of service to more people than I currently am, and hence, most of us probably could be of more service than we are.
To top it off, there are groups like the Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. I don't know if that is a proper use of the word. I am an editor, so I seek these things out. Slave usually connotes unwillful servitude. I know there is nothing unwillful about these Slaves; I have seen some of them in action. So I just don't get it. I'll keep searching though.
"Lord Jesus, show me the way."
image - http://therosarytrail.com/jesus-as-servant/
