So once we have got rid of the ego then what?

The  other day I was in Pound land. I was directed to the self service tills. As I paid for my items. A voice came from the tills of Elvis Presley. First of all it really shocked me to hear him tell me to have a nice day but the other thing was it was extremely annoying. I complained to the shop steward who said that they were to have that voice until the end of October. I suspect that the next voice will be Santa or something like that. We have got used to self service tills and there is even a store run by Amazon that has no one in there that the whole shop is run by sensors and cameras called Amazon go. Both of these things have a sense of lack of human contact. They denote to us the lack of service. 

The readings speak to us today of the possibility of being a servant. The old Testament from the book if Isiah shows us that Jesus was the suffering servant for us. He showed the depth of his love by suffering for humanity. Jesus gave his life because he loved us as the Gospel puts it as a ransom for many. This is a different way for the Jewish people to see their messiah he was meant to be strong and save them but not one to suffer and die.

Jesus in the Gospel tells us again of what he is going to do. He is going to be a ransom for many. This suffering servant is one who gives totally of himself without wanting anything in return. It really shows us the beauty and depth of Jesus that he was willing to do this for the sake of many people. 

For many people the thing that stops people from becoming true servants for each other is themselves. When we put ourselves first then we are loosing something. As I said the self service tills the lack of human contact the selfie  culture means that we put me first above others. I spend a lot of my time walking around the hospital and talking to patients and praying with them. The one thing that they all say is that they cannot get over the human kindness of another in helping them get better. Every time I go to Lourdes either with the HCPT or the diocese I am struck by the amount of young people who having given up their time and spent a lot of their own money to be of service to the sick and the vulnerable. Look at even in our own city the amount of people who help with hight shelter and other projects around the city. To those who do random acts of kindness. These people work quietly often without any attention to themselves.

So we must learn to be servants. That through our love for Jesus we learn to serve others without drawing attention to ourselves with out looking or seeking praise but quietly being attentive to the needs of others. We as learning to be disciples learn from the master who washed his disciples feet but who also showed the depth of his love by being a Ransom for many.