Wanting to be great

The gospel of Matthew says it at 20:26: Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant. Mark, at 10:43. Luke says it at 22:26, like this:  But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves.  And John, the mystic theologian, writes at 21:18: Feed my sheep.

 

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote it this way:

Jesus gave us a new norm of greatness. If you want to be important -- wonderful. If you want to be recognized -- wonderful. If you want to be great -- wonderful. But recognize that he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. That's your new definition of greatness. And this morning, the thing that I like about it ... by giving that definition of greatness, it means that everybody can be great. Because everybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You don't have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve. You don't have to know Eintein's theory of relativity to serve. You don't have to know the second theory of thermo-dynamics in physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love. And you can be that servant.

You can be that servant. You can be great.

Wonderful.