Serving as the body of Christ
“Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:28) Some iteration of this Scripture passage is most likely part of our agency mission statements, and with good reason, as we are here to serve.
But what does that service actually look like? Thankfully, we have Jesus as a model to show us to go out to all in our communities, to welcome, to clothe, to give food and drink, to bury the dead, to visit, to shelter, and to take time to retreat and rest.
As the body of Christ we all have different skills that help towards this mission and all are essential. Some of us are direct care workers and encounter our clients every day, while some are in offices doing practicalities needed for our agencies to operate. We cannot serve without both.
This Lent, I encourage you to reflect upon what it is that you have been called to offer in service and how you go about it. Notice what you do well and comes naturally to you (and celebrate that) as well as what might be uncomfortable and challenging (and discern why that is and how it might become easier).
Is this the Lent to experience and better understand the needs of another population or type of service? Is it the time to take some purposeful and intentional rest? Ultimately, we know we cannot and should not try to do all and be all, but there is much value in more fully exploring what God has in store for our service. This could be to improve what we do well, an increased appreciation for what we struggle with but others excel at, or even a surprise interest or skill in something new!
Serving in different ways is not easy, but I hope you find strength and peace in knowing that we are all collectively working on this together and thus our service will grow and be more impactful.
Michael Smith is the chief program officer at Catholic Charities Maine and a member of the CCUSA Management and Administration as well as Aging Steering Committees.