John 13:16-20

There is a quote, “Be kind. Everyone is fighting a battle.” Part of our ministry as priests is that people share with us what they are going through. Everyone has their crosses. 

I remember an article came out once on the effect of Facebook on people. You see your friends eating in this restaurant; you see your classmates having a reunion; you see your sibling having a tour of Japan; you see your office mate’s child getting an award. You think that everyone is happy except me. But then again, part of life are the crosses that we carry.

In the Gospel, Jesus had his own cross to bear. He knew that he would soon be betrayed by his apostle Judas. Yet what does he do? He serves.

My dear friends, amidst the crosses we bear in life, aside from prayer and fasting we are challenged to do acts of charity. One of the greatest acts of charity is to serve. 

Hence, three reasons why we should serve:

1. When we serve we realize that we are not alone in the crosses we bear in life. When we have trials, the tendency is to look only to ourselves – my hurt, my pain, my suffering. When we serve we realize that there are other people with trials and there are people with much bigger trials than us.
2. When we serve we are making this world a better place to live in. The kindness we do affects people not only around us, but also in the many generations to follow.
3. When we serve we also bless ourselves. In life, we always reap what we sow. When we serve, we make other people happy. This happiness eventually comes back to us. When we share the gifts that we have, life has ways of blessing us with more gifts. 

In this Mass, we remember the words of Albert Einstein: “Only a life lived in service to others is worth living.”