History’s greatest was a servant
22nd April 2014 · 0 Comments
By Fr. Jerome LeDoux
Contributing Columnist
By conventional criteria, the greatest person who ever lived must have been one who led all contemporaries and figures of the past, as well as those unborn, in intellectual capabilities, knowledge, understanding and wisdom. That person would have likewise excelled uniquely in the optics and metrics of overall physical prowess and skills.
It would, therefore, appear that this person would be a splendid combination of the holiness of Enoch, the wisdom of Solomon and the supernatural strength of Samson. But in reality those great people were only distant stars that paled by comparison to the man who, though unschooled, knew far more than all the intellectuals and sages of history.
Infinitely more than clairvoyants who know the hidden present or the future, that man had all the human psychic gifts as the human son of Mary plus all the blessings of supernature innate in him as the Son of God. Repeatedly, the Gospels record that Jesus knew the thoughts of the Pharisees and others who accused him of blasphemy. One has to wonder why they kept coming back for more pain after their inner thoughts were bared.
After his baptism by cousin John in the Jordan accompanied by the affirming voice of his Father, Jesus began his public life in spectacular fashion by changing to wine at least 120 gallons of water that had been poured into huge stone water jugs. In John 2, at that wedding in Cana we see the very human side of Jesus side by side with his divinity.
Again, in Mark 4:38 we see an unbelievable side of the man Jesus fast asleep on a cushion in the stern of a boat battered by a storm so furious that his terrified apostles were screaming out of cold fear. What kind of man could awaken and calm the sea?
Once more at sea, Matthew 14:22 recounts the spectacle of Jesus walking on the water toward his unhinged apostles. He went on to indicate precisely where his men could drop their net for a catch of fish, to multiply barley loaves and fish for thousands, to heal the crippled, blind, deaf and mute, and to bring back the dead on three occasions.
Notwithstanding all these unique, supernatural phenomena, Jesus’ main claim in life never wavered, as we read in Matthew 20:28, “The Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Almost as an intro to Holy Week, our Head Servant of the Diocese of Fort Worth visited us on April 6, celebrating our 10:00 a.m., Sunday Mass in his getting-to-know-us introduction as our new Bishop. Just like the Pope, whose official title is “Servant Of The Servants Of God,” our new bishop is our Pastor, our Shepherd, our Head Servant.
Such is the command of Jesus in Luke 22:26, “Let the greatest among you be as the youngest, and the leader as the servant.” This was in stark response to the clueless apostles who had just received their First Communion from Jesus and almost instantly broke out into an argument about which of them was to be regarded as the greatest.
Servant though he is, Bishop Olson exploded in our midst with firebombs that he dropped throughout his homily. Breaking open the Word of the mind-bending Gospel reading about the death of Lazarus and his being summoned forth by Jesus, the bishop said, “There is a grave inside each of us, and it stinks. There is a stench. There are those decaying things locked up in there that we don’t want anybody to know about.”
Every time the bishop said “Amen” we were Amening right behind him. It soon got to sound very unlike the everyday fare delivered by a bishop. In fact, it soon took on the appearance of a revival with everyone getting in on the excitement of the Word. Yes, this bishop talks our jargon and includes himself together with us every step of the way.
“When Martha said, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died,’ she implied, ‘but you were not here!’ We have to watch out for the belief that we allow to change quickly into unbelief, accepting the hurt of our grief, then faltering in our belief in Jesus to uplift us. Beware of the Martha in us, and God help us with the Peter in us!
“Jesus was not nice in the way he spoke. I looked all over the Bible and nowhere did read that Jesus is nice. Unlike my do-over schemes playing monopoly with my sisters, Jesus does not allow do-overs. He just promises us resurrection from the awful corruption and stench of that grave inside of us. ‘Come forth!’ he commands us.”
All of us, but especially the recently bereaved were struck and uplifted by the bishop’s words. Several of us compared notes to make sure that we got all the points of the “revival” for present and future reference. This was the opening salvo of Holy Week.
Lazarus’ raising shows the line of demarcation between believers who hope in Jesus and unbelievers who have no hope in their grief, 1 Thessalonians 4:13. Happily, we are Easter people, children of the resurrection, anticipating living and loving forever.
This article originally published in the April 21, 2014 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
