For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.
Matthew 25:35-36
Jesus had a lot to tell His disciples about service. We've all heard the phrases: "for I have come into the world not to be served, but to serve" or "whoever seeks to be the first in the Kingdom will be the last and the last shall become the first."
Jesus came to live among us to reveal to us the perfection of God's self-giving love. The culmination of this self-giving love was Jesus' sacrificial death on the cross.
As disciples of Jesus, our call to service is first and most importantly, a way of showing our gratitude to God for all He has done for us. God loves us, we love Him in return, and from that relationship of love, we are empowered and called to love our neighbor. But it's also not optional--after all, the second commandment of Jesus was to "love our neighbor as ourselves."
All of us have gifts to share that were given by the Holy Spirit to build up the Body of Christ. To complete the journey of discipleship our job is to discover those gifts and use them to build the Kingdom of God.
There are a lot of ways to serve the Lord and your neighbor here at St. Mary Magdalen! Prayerfully consider joining one of our ministry teams or councils.
For you were called for freedom, brothers. But do not use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh; rather, serve one another through love. For the whole law is fulfilled in one statement, namely,
“You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
- Galatians 5:13-14