For the Greatness of God

Since last Monday, the first reading at mass has come from the Book of Sirach. Part of the Wisdom Books, last Tuesday featured a poignant line from chapter 2, "(W)hen you come to serve the LORD, stand in justice and fear, prepare yourself for trials" (Sirach 2:1).

Prepare yourself for trials when you come to serve the Lord by:

• standing in justice: give God and neighbor their due;
• standing in fear: reverent awe of God's majesty and power. 

This line from Sirach has resonated with me ever since a colleague shared it over 10 years ago during a particularly trying time in my principalship. Similarly, it has stayed with me all week. 

I serve the Lord through the ministry of Catholic education. This service has consumed the entirety of my professional career. Whereas I will always be willing to follow wherever He leads me, I do not anticipate serving the Lord in any other capacity.

So, while I readily accept my service-oriented mission, I am not so quick to embrace the guaranteed trials that will accompany this ministry.  

Sacred Scripture contains God's messages to us. I would do well to take this to heart. 

Prepare myself for trials when serving the Lord. As Pope Benedict XVI encouraged in a 2005 address, "Christ did not promise an easy life. Those who desire comforts have dialed the wrong number. Rather, He shows us the way to great things, the good, towards an authentic human life."​

In addition to this forewarning, God also provides the prescription in order to properly prepare for these trials: 

• Stand in justice - do the right thing, in the right way, at the right time, in the best way possible. 
• Stand in fear -  worship God. 

First, stand in justice. The means that we use must live up to the noble ends we hope to accomplish. Ensuring that others will know we are Christian by our love demands great sacrifice. It requires heroic effort to to faithfully behave, speak, and interact in ways that make Christ manifest to others. The trials will come even when we stand in justice; they happen more frequently, however, when we cut corners, turn and look the other way, and/or act in self-serving ways. 

Second, stand in fear through proper worship of God. Yesterday, my oldest daughter participated in a retreat in preparation for her Confirmation. As part of the activities included lectio divina, my family and I watched a short overview about this form of prayer as a way to remind her what this entailed. 

Fr. Josh Johnson focused on Luke 10:38-42 where Mary and Martha argue about who had chosen the better part. I have heard this story countless times, but it wasn’t until yesterday and hearing Fr. Josh's reflection that God communicated to me that Mary chose the better part, not because being with the Lord is better than serving, but because being with the Lord should precede service.

Serving the Lord entails trials. We minister in enemy-occupied territory. 

But, the gates of the netherworld will not remain locked in the presence of the power of the Holy Spirit. 

Whether we need reminded of the mission, or inspired by the vision, or debriefed on the strategies, or connected to collaborators, or given wisdom in analysis, or just a quick breath to ensure our professionalism lives up to the call of a disciple of Christ, going to God before serving will empower us to stand firm while serving.

Going to God before serving will also embolden us to achieve the greatness for which we have been created, even when it's hard, "The ways of the Lord are not easy, but we were not created for an easy life, but for great things, for goodness" (Pope Benedict XVI, 2005).  

Prepare yourself for trials. Stand in justice and fear. Serve the Lord. 

For the greatness of God.