I have longed for the presence of God as long as I can remember. Even as a child, I knew God was there. I just did not know where to look. But when I started taking the journey seriously, especially around my late high school years, a song we sang at church pretty much summed up what I had come to know in Jesus. Not just the song, but a single line in an oft-unsung second verse:
"Service to others, is service to you."
The middle portion of the ancient practice of the Stations of the Cross involves four moments that have become the stuff of legend. Only one of them is actually in Scripture, but more importantly, is what they represent.
VI - Veronica wipes the face of Jesus
VII - Jesus falls a second time
VIII - Jesus meets the daughters of Jerusalem
XI - Jesus falls a third time
Many things stand out about this line of events. What should probably stand out most is that Jesus is exhausted making his way to the cross. His human body is failing under the weight of grief and physical burnout. But it is stations six and eight that have my attention.
Non-Catholics dismiss Veronica as myth, which is fine, I guess. After all, she comes from a fourth century apocryphal work that gave a name to the woman who touched Jesus' garment and was healed. But for prayer's sake, Veronica might be my favorite station. She represents everything a Christian is called to be and do. How does Jesus describe service? Simple. When you do for the least of these, you do it for me. When Veronica wipes the face of Jesus in this particular story, she could not have known she was wiping the face of the Messiah. When we serve others, we do not do it because of who they are, but because of what the Lord has already done in us.
What also strikes me is station eight. Jesus is "falling-down tired" as we say in the south. But along the way, he stops to comfort these crying women we only meet for a moment in the gospels.
That's it.
Someone serves Jesus; Jesus serves others.
And right there you have the sum of the Christian life.
As Christians, we learn to be gracious recipients of the gifts others give us, whether visiting us in the hospital, helping us with expenses when we are down, or giving us a meal when we are hungry.
As Christians, we learn to be givers when we see others in need. We go pray with people in the hospital; we give bottles of water to guys on the street; we share our food.
"Service to others is service to you."
My friend Ginny shared this quote from Albert Pike with me yesterday: "What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal."
