living life for others - 2nd week lent wednesday 2015

Today we get our reflection on our first reading from the book of the prophet Jeremiah.  Jeremiah had a joyful early life, a happy disposition in his youth, but the difficulties he had to face and endure as narrated in the Book of Jeremiah and the Book of Lamentations gave him the moniker “the weeping prophet.”  He suffered persecution from the hands of authorities and false prophets.  He had to endure beatings and at one time he was imprisoned inside an empty cistern.  He had to bear calumnies and lies thrown at him by his fellowmen in order to destroy his person and his credibility.  Thus he is the referred to as the suffering servant and for that he is said to prefigure Christ because Christ had to endure the same thing from the people he sought to serve.

In our reading today Jeremiah is expressing what he feels.  Is evil a recompense for good?  You were supposed to be helping people, drawing them back to God.  Then you thought all the while that people will appreciate you for your work, for what you do for God, for the Church, and for the people, only to end up ignored and even denounced by others, with people spreading lies, and calumnies and slander to harm your person.  This was the experience of Jeremiah, the weeping prophet, the suffering servant and this was also the experience of Jesus.

When you serve God you have to be always ready to suffer.  When you serve others you have already to bear in mind that suffering is part of the job description.  Can you drink of the cup?  This will always be the initial question to the would-be follower of Jesus – can you drink of the cup?  Can you obey, can you swallow your pride, can you die to your ego, can you work enthusiastically even without recognition; can you still go on working for God even if nobody appreciates what you do; can you work for the church even with people you do not like; can you serve people who will only take advantage of you?  Can you drink of the cup?  Yes it feels good to serve, but it also hurts a lot, many times.

You cannot love when you are too full of your self.  Loving always involves dying to self.  

Ironically as we talk of dying to self we are today celebrating a birthday, we are celebrating life.  But that is what real life means – to live is to die to the self and to live a life for others.

Today as we look to Jeremiah and Jesus – the weeping prophet, the suffering servant, let us never forget this truth, we can only truly live when we live our life no longer for ourselves but for others.