DREAM BIG!

Tuesday in the 7th Week of the Ordinary Time
Mk 9:30-37

When I was a little boy and people would ask me what I wanted to be when I grow up, my quick answer was, “When I grow up I want to be an astronaut.” Literally, my I had a high ambition, so high that it would require a journey of light years away! I dreamt of riding a spaceship and conquering some distant planet. High ambition, great dream!

The Lord had a different dream for me. But it did not mean His was a dream lesser than mine. The truth is, the Lord’s dream for me is even greater. He wanted me to conquer not only some unknown planet but as many souls as possible for His kingdom. As history has it, He called me and chose me to be His priest, His servant, His persona-in-mundi, , an alter Christus, “another Him”. Highest ambition, greatest dream!

I had to learn dreaming God’s dream for my self. I continue learning because I continue having dreams to greatness.

It is not bad to dream big. It is not a sin to aspire for greatness. What is bad is when our heads grow bigger because of our ambition. What is immoral is when great aspirations make us lord it over those whom the world considers less.

Dream for God and you will dream with Him. Then you will be great indeed. Word for God and you will serve others with Him. Then you will be happy.

Our happiness truly lies not in being greater than the other man. Peace comes from being in harmony with God’s will in our life. Why be great in the judgment of the world when we know that the world is imperfect and its judgment fallible? Aspire to be great in the eyes of the Lord and the Lord will lift you high. St. James, in the First Reading today, reminds us that the Lord exalts the humble. Jesus, in the Gospel today, teaches us what humility is all about.

Jesus’ idea of greatness is a total reversal of the world’s definition of the same. While the world considers great those that are served – and the more servants you have, the greater you are – Jesus measures greatness by service to the least, the last and the lost. Because in His kingdom the last is actually the first, the more lowly the kind of service that a person renders others the more highly that person is in the Lord’s infallible estimation.

The Lord wants us to be great. Let us be great then! The Lord determines greatness by service. Let us serve then! The Lord looks for humility in the service we do. Let us be humble then!

Can the Lord’s dream for us be greater and better that our dreams for our selves?