In the first reading, St. Paul is preaching about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The whole of the Acts of the Apostles is a repeated announcement of the Good News. But who is Jesus Christ for you? Is he the master or the servant? Let us read the Gospel passage for the day. In the world, there is a rat race to becoming the first – first in authority, in power, in respect and most of all, in financial stability. This then becomes the goal in the lives of many people. But what happens to those who cannot make it? They occupy the lower ranks of society, they are the subordinates, the servants, the “utusan”, etc.
Yet Christ, though he was the master, humbled himself and took the situation of a servant. He entered the last place, the place which all of us dislike and reject. No one wants to be humiliated, to be a loser. Yet Christ disregarded his Lordship and was not ashamed to be the last, the least. He willingly accepted a shameful death in order to save us. And God the Father raised him up and gave him the greatest honor and glory of being at his right hand in heaven.
From there, Jesus continually intercedes for us and grants us salvation. So then this should be our goal – to go to heaven where our master is and not look for human honors and prestige. If we follow Christ, our discipleship is not only of the resurrection, but also the cross as well. Yet after the cross, there is the resurrection. This is the Good News of salvation.
