by Claudia Windal

Created on: April 12, 2010   Last Updated: April 15, 2010

As a perpetually vowed member of a Franciscan Religious Order, I daily follow the example of St. Francis of Assisi, who is often referred to the Servant of the servants of God. Being a servant of God, means being attentive to the people of God. Like Jesus, God's servants do not lord over human kind but rather, work with and for those who are in need of both spiritual and physical gifts and care. The source of this example is Jesus Christ, who spent the last three years of his life providing example after example of this servant/service. The resounding cry of the servant of God is "My God and My All." and the repetition of "Here I am Lord, I come to do your will/work."

This concept of  servant hood is runs contrary to 21st century thought and action. Much of what we hear and experience today is based on "I want this." "I have a right to it." and "I'll do everything I can to get what I want." This often means running over the "little people" who struggle day to day for adequate food, housing, health care, education and others while those with some financial means, are awarded substantial wages and benefits, eat out often in fine restaurants and/or never worry about their next meal, need never put off a decision as to when to seek medical care because they have insurance that covers those costs, and can enroll their children in excellent schools where academic standards are high, drugs are not regularly used by students, and gang fights do not kill classmates routinely.

We notice the baffled looks when we wish someone a good morning or comment on a beautiful day. It appears as if we have just spoken in a foreign language and that does not deserve a response from many people. Stopping our car on a city street in order to let another vehicle exit a crowded parking lot, receives rude gestures and blaring horns, not accolades or positive acknowledgement. Parents have become frightened of anyone stopping to smile at or speak to their child, afraid that the child will be snatched from their stroller and lost forever. We encounter these looks, fear, hesitation, disbelief as we become servants of God and the People of God.

Jesus spoke to women and angered religious leaders of his day. He ate with tax collectors and he healed lepers and others as well as raised several adults and children from the dead. We must be persistent in our following of Jesus' servant hood as we continue to smile at those we meet when we are out and about. Despite a collective hesitancy of

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