Choose which mountain top
In the opening chapter of his best-selling book, “The Second Mountain,” author David Brooks writes…”every so often, you meet people who radiate joy -- who seem to know why they were put on this earth, who glow with a kind of inner light. Life, for these people, has often followed what we might think of as a two-mountain shape. They get out of school, they start a career, and they begin climbing the mountain they thought they were meant to climb. Their goals on this first mountain are the ones our culture endorses: to be a success, to make your mark, to experience personal happiness. But when they get to the top of that mountain, something happens. They look around and find the view . . . unsatisfying. They realize: This wasn’t my mountain after all. There’s another, bigger mountain out there that is actually my mountain.
“And so they embark on a new journey. On the second mountain, life moves from self-centered to other-centered. They want the things that are truly worth wanting, not the things other people tell them to want. They embrace a life of interdependence, not independence. They surrender to a life of commitment.”
Sound familiar? When Jesus says, “Anyone among you who aspires to greatness must serve the rest,” we run for the hills. We’re afraid that if we follow Jesus into servanthood, people will walk all over us. Jesus “emptied himself and took the form of a servant ... [and] because of this, God highly exalted Him. “Come down from the hills or wherever you are. Come down on your knees, take a towel and a basin, and discover what it means to be outrageously happy just doing for others. In the words of the best-selling author, there’s a bigger mountain out there where life moves from self-centered to other-centered – from independence to interdependence – from indifference to a life committed to the service of others.
To the Church at Philippi, Paul wrote these words: “Your attitude must be that of Christ. Though he was in the form of God, He did not deem equality with God something to be grasped at. Instead, He emptied Himself and took the form of a servant... obediently accepting even death, death on a Cross! Because of this, God highly exalted Him” (Philippians 2:6-9).
Sadly, in our materialistic society, very often, we realize that we are being evaluated by others based on our financial standing. If someone says, “What is he worth?” or “What is she worth?” we take it to mean “How much money does he have?” or “How much money does she have?” That’s an awful state of affairs. But it’s even worse to fall into the trap of evaluating ourselves on that basis. Jesus makes this clear to His disciples in today’s Gospel Lesson, saying, “No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon” (Luke 16:13).
When you are compassionate and supportive of each other, God is being served. When you genuinely care and sacrifice for others, God is being served. Let’s all choose to serve God?