My first awareness of what a “slave” is probably took place in elementary school when we first began to study the history of America.
My education on this word, and particularly the plight of African-Americans in this country, continued throughout my school years and was quite amplified by many graphic depictions of the brutal conditions of slavery provided by actors in powerful movies.
I still remember vividly our family gathering around the television in the winter of 1977 to watch eight straight nights of the TV mini-series Roots – a story that captivated the nation with its brutal, honest depiction of what it meant to be a slave in America. It still ranks as one of the most watched television events of all time.
Needless to say, after all that, who would ever want to be a slave? When given a choice, we would all choose freedom over slavery, right?
And yet, in today’s first reading, the apostle Paul is quick (and proud) to identify himself as a slave … a slave of Christ.
It’s an interesting choice of word, especially when one considers that Jesus is the source of our freedom, not slavery … he has freed us from sin by resurrection. Death has no power over us, because he freed us.
I don’t see Christ as a “slave-driver” who treats us brutally and as property. Rather, I see Him as the source of all that is good, who raises us to a level of dignity and respect, no matter where we are from.
Paul most certainly would agree with that, so why did he use the phrase “slave of Christ” – not just in the letter, but right at the top of the letter, as if it is the primary way to describe himself.
He had to have something different in mind.
So, I turned to my trusty American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (no home should be without one) and looked up the definition for the word slave.
What I found is quite interesting and can serve as a guide for meditating on how we might look at ourselves as slaves of Christ.
There are three definitions to ponder.
The first definition of slave: “Bound in servitude as property of a person or a household.”
Are we bound to serve Christ and His Church? Do we truly serve Him by serving the “least among us,” or do we limit ourselves to “clocking in” at Sunday Mass, hearing the scripture and homily, listening to the songs, taking the communion and then “clocking out” again for the rest of the week?
A true slave could not get away with that.
The next definition: “One who is abjectly subservient to a specified person or influence.”
Subservient? Another word that I felt the need to look up in my 2,074-page dictionary. And that’s when this little exercise got really good.
Subservient is defined as subordinate, obsequious (I’m just going to look that one up later) and this … “useful as a means or an instrument serving to promote an end.”
An instrument … something to be used by Christ in order to help Him and His Church bring about the Kingdom of God on earth.
So … to be a slave of Christ means that we should be his instrument – His pencil to write words of inspiration; His arms to embrace those who need love; His hands and feet to help feed the poor and nurse the sick.
Do we strive to be that instrument? Is it OK for a human to want to be used like a pencil? Think about how others view you when they read your Facebook page or see you out in public. Do they see you or do they see Christ working from within you?
The final definition of slave is this: “One who works extremely hard.”
I’ve heard it said many times that while we need to be like children in order to get to heaven, we need to work like adults to help others do the same.
We can’t give in to laziness or sloth (one of the seven deadly sins), especially when it comes to doing the work of the Lord. We must never tire of doing the right things or saying the right words to help with the mission of being a Christian.
Paul must have had that in mind when he referred to himself as a slave.
Old Testament writers used the same word to refer to Moses, Joshua and Abraham … all were slaves of Yahweh who worked hard to follow God’s orders.
In another letter from Paul, we read that Christ, Himself, “emptied himself, taking the form of a slave” … “humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross.”
Perhaps Paul was trying to tell us to freely choose to become a slave, the way he did after he was knocked off his high horse.
Perhaps we need to work harder at emptying ourselves of all the junk that keeps us from experiencing Christ in our lives.
All the noise, the devil’s distractions, the symphony of venial sins, the tragedy of mortal sins … all the stuff that weighs us down.
In that sense, we should all strive to be … obsequious.
(Now, get your dictionary and look that word up).
