ambitions
The gospel today is so appropriate. After a week of fighting it out with each other, trying to prove who among us is the greatest, who among us is the champion, the gospel seeks to answer the question, what is true greatness? Who is the greatest among us?
After a week of giving our best shot, of bearing pain, tiredness and hardships in order to come out first among the many teams, our gospel asks: who is first? What does it consist in being first?
After a week of giving the best that we got and still wanting of strength and ability we sought at the very least to save ourselves from being named last among the many teams, but the gospel is asking us, who is last? What does it consist in being called last?
As in every human endeavor and in every success story ambition is the driving force for greatness. Ambition. If during the intramurals you merely stepped out of that field or step into the court without planning to win at all, without the burning desire to win the game you are good for nothing. There is no difference between you and a physically handicapped person. In fact a person without drive and ambition is worse than a physically handicapped person. In life there is nothing worse than a handicapped spirit – and without ambition the spirit is handicapped.
When we talk of ambition we always cringed in embarrassment. We are trained to be humble and modest about ourselves – and this kind of humility can sometimes mean hiding our true and real feelings. Ambitions are better kept to ourselves rather than brought into the open, for when we do, it carries with it that stigma especially when people will say to us, baw ka ambisiyoso sa imo. The disciples reacted in the same way. They were talking along the way about who is the greatest among them, but when Jesus asked them what they were talking about they could not bring it up with him. They were too ashamed to reveal to him their true feelings. They were afraid that they will be condemned for being ambitious.
But Jesus gathered them together, sat down and openly talked to them what they were so embarrassed to talk about. Indeed a good master this Jesus. A good formator. He can talk about true feelings without getting his audience embarrassed nor coming out of it feeling condemned. He did not say, don’t be ambitious but rather he said aspire to serve. He did not say it is wrong to work for greatness rather he said look for greatness in service. He did not do away with ambition rather he redirected their ambition into an ambition to serve.
My dear be ambitious. Without ambition your spirit is handicapped. But in your ambition aspire for greatness in service, not in self glorification but in service; not in being served but by serving.
Tonight in the presence of the Lord we will express our ambition.
After a week of giving our best shot, of bearing pain, tiredness and hardships in order to come out first among the many teams, our gospel asks: who is first? What does it consist in being first?
After a week of giving the best that we got and still wanting of strength and ability we sought at the very least to save ourselves from being named last among the many teams, but the gospel is asking us, who is last? What does it consist in being called last?
As in every human endeavor and in every success story ambition is the driving force for greatness. Ambition. If during the intramurals you merely stepped out of that field or step into the court without planning to win at all, without the burning desire to win the game you are good for nothing. There is no difference between you and a physically handicapped person. In fact a person without drive and ambition is worse than a physically handicapped person. In life there is nothing worse than a handicapped spirit – and without ambition the spirit is handicapped.
When we talk of ambition we always cringed in embarrassment. We are trained to be humble and modest about ourselves – and this kind of humility can sometimes mean hiding our true and real feelings. Ambitions are better kept to ourselves rather than brought into the open, for when we do, it carries with it that stigma especially when people will say to us, baw ka ambisiyoso sa imo. The disciples reacted in the same way. They were talking along the way about who is the greatest among them, but when Jesus asked them what they were talking about they could not bring it up with him. They were too ashamed to reveal to him their true feelings. They were afraid that they will be condemned for being ambitious.
But Jesus gathered them together, sat down and openly talked to them what they were so embarrassed to talk about. Indeed a good master this Jesus. A good formator. He can talk about true feelings without getting his audience embarrassed nor coming out of it feeling condemned. He did not say, don’t be ambitious but rather he said aspire to serve. He did not say it is wrong to work for greatness rather he said look for greatness in service. He did not do away with ambition rather he redirected their ambition into an ambition to serve.
My dear be ambitious. Without ambition your spirit is handicapped. But in your ambition aspire for greatness in service, not in self glorification but in service; not in being served but by serving.
Tonight in the presence of the Lord we will express our ambition.
Comments