UPDATE FROM FR STEPHEN

For the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve.

Today’s Gospel has one of those sentences which we hear so often that we can ignore just how radical it is. The disciples cannot cope with it we know that, even at the Last Supper, they  cannot understand what it means to be served by their king.

On her 21st birthday, the late Queen pledged that she would devote her whole life to service. In  public life, it is a wonderful thing for those who hold great power to be devoted to service. It isn’t demeaning quite the opposite: true nobility can be seen when those who hold power understand that it is their true calling not to exercise it to dominate, but to serve.

In the Church, those of us privileged to beordained as priests and deacons, and those honoured to be called to the religious life, are called to follow Jesus in this servant leadership. We have the tremendous privilege of shepherding and caring, serving your needs and working for you.

So too, in fact, do we all. It is truly inspiring to see groups such as the Creative Ladies and Faith in Action working tirelessly, as they did for Friday’s superb Harvest Lunch, to serve us all and particularly those most in need of assistance in our mission. Let’s ask God to guide us to serve our fellow humans wherever he wants us to, knowing that the true dignity of  guiding others is in serving them.

God Bless

Fr Stephen