How important am I? How important are you?

We are now halfway through the 40 days of Lent. During these days of Lent, Christians are required to fast (eat less!), and to pray (pray more!), and to do works of charity (be generous with others!). The Church asks us to renew ourselves, to rediscover or discover our spiritual life, and to turn back to God.

One basic way to pay more attention to God during Lent is through the Bible. Pull out your Bible and read a chapter. One of the best stories for Lent is the 22nd Chapter of Luke’s gospel, where we find his account of the Last Supper leading up to the trial and death of Jesus.

It begins with enemies trying to figure a way to kill Jesus. Then it moves to Judas’ betrayal. Then they gather for the meal and for sharing the bread and the cup. Finally a very human argument ensues. The disciples dispute over the question,”Who is the greatest?”

How could these “disciples,” immediately after Jesus gives himself in the Last Supper, end up in an argument over who among them is greatest?

Isn’t this ridiculous? Yet this is what Luke tells us in Chapter 22. Go read it yourself.

It is like the young boys pushing for position in the playground. Or it is like bigger boys (and girls) checking each others’ SAT scores for college admissions. Or it is like adult boys and girls judging each other based on who has more money, who is more powerful, and so on.

All of us struggle between thinking ourselves to be “very hot stuff” or “a loser.” Neither viewpoint is true, but only age and experience and God’s help bring us to the point of having a healthy self-love. The way to this goal is through care and service of others. This is Jesus’ answer in Luke Chapter 22. He tells the quarreling disciples that “One is greatest among you who serves the needs of others”

Service of the other person is the key to how important any of us is or will be because in serving others, we are most like God. God shines on the just and the unjust. Rather than have our lives driven by what he or she thinks of us, Jesus is telling us to run our lives focused on God.

Now the distressing part of this story is that none of the disciples seem to get the point. They are as self-centered after the meal as they were before the meal. Moreover, their behavior continues right into Jesus’ crucifixion and death. They continue to bicker with each other; they deny Jesus; and they are anxious. They are just like you and me, aren’t they? Even when we gather about the altar for Mass, are we changed by it?

Will we be changed by this season of Lent? Now that is another question. Earlier in Luke’s gospel (Chapter 15; verse 2) one of Jesus’ attackers made this accusation: “This man welcomes sinners, and eats with them.” These are the most comforting lines in the Bible. No matter how little we think of ourselves or no matter how important we might think we are, Jesus makes room for all of us.

So, these days of Lent call us to change, to stir up our spiritual life, to look at our lives differently. May these days be a time for you to come home to God.