Give, descend, and serve – Silvio José Báez, O.C.D.

Jesus wants his disciples to learn this way of life from him: unconditional obedience to God, faithfulness to one’s conscience, and infinite compassion for human beings. Jesus teaches us that truth cannot be a bargaining chip, neither can love be betrayed.

He preferred to give his life and be executed rather than be unfaithful to the will of God, his Father. Jesus didn’t come to be served, but to serve; he didn’t come to dominate others, but to do good; he didn’t come to receive anything, but to give everything out of love (cf. Mk 10:45).

“Jesus teaches us that truth cannot be a bargaining chip, neither can love be betrayed” (Bishop Silvio José Báez, OCD). #truth #love #jesus

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We, his disciples, must learn this way of life. In order to love, serve, and always seek the good of all persons, without expecting any sort of gratification, we must be ready to “be handed over” (cf. Mk 9:31), we must always be ready to lose for love.

In order to be faithful to God’s vision, to his dream and desire for a more humane, just, and dignified world for all people, we must forget ourselves, serve others, and always seek the good of all, even to the point of giving our own lives.

Jesus teaches us that, in God’s eyes, the greatness of human beings is measured by their willingness to serve. What we have isn’t what makes us great — it’s what we give.

The truly great ones are those people who aren’t obsessed with personal success at all costs and who don’t try to dominate others; rather, they are those individuals who joyfully dedicate themselves to helping and selflessly serving those in need, especially the ones who cannot repay us. Service isn’t a simple rule of civility; it means acting like Jesus, who came, as we said before, “not to be served, but to serve and to give his life” for all (cf. Mk 10:45).

“Service isn’t a simple rule of civility; it means acting like Jesus, who ‘came not to be served, but to serve, and to give His life’ for all” (Bishop Silvio José Báez, OCD).

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Honors, positions of importance, and titles don’t make us any greater. Our social status doesn’t climb when we desire others to praise, obey, or serve us. The person who dominates others by force and makes his will to be the law doesn’t reveal his greatness — he shows the lowliness of his morals and unhealthy pettiness.

Jesus wants to eradicate three deadly verbs from our daily life: to have, to ascend, and to command; and in their place he proposes that we should cultivate these three life-giving verbs: to give, to descend, and to serve.

Bishop Silvio José Báez, O.C.D.

Auxiliary Bishop of Managua
Homily, 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time (excerpt)
19 September 2021

Esta mañana compartí con un grupo de madres de jóvenes asesinados víctimas de la represión en Nicaragua. En el abrazo y las lagrimas compartidas encontré a Jesús doliente. En la oración nos llenamos de la esperanza del Resucitado pic.twitter.com/3LatrY6mDa

— Silvio José Báez (@silviojbaez) October 14, 2018

Translation from the Spanish text is the blogger’s own work product and may not be reproduced without permission.