In the wee morning hour on Monday right after Easter, God called His faithful servant, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, who for the last 12 years was known as Pope Francis.  There are many adjectives that can be associated with Pope Francis but these two stand tall: simple and humble.  He was so simple and humble that when he was elected cardinal in Argentina, he managed to have the cardinal mansion be sold and the money was used for other needs of the Church.  To him the mansion was just too luxurious.  For the same reason, instead of being driven in a car by a chauffeur, he took a subway to get around in Buenos Aires.  For the same reason, after he was elected pope, he refused to be driven to the hotel in a limousine; instead, he rode the bus with the rest of the cardinals.  And for the same reason, he paid for the hotel with his personal credit card.  And the list goes on. But

there is one more sign of simplicity and humility that I must not fail to mention: He asked that on his tombstone there is no mention of his being a pope; instead, he asked that this one word be written as an epitaph: Franciscus. That’s it.  A true servant of the Lord, indeed!

The world needs more servants of the Lord, not managers for the Lord.  Servants do not speak much, they are after all servants, but they do a lot, they are after all servants.  When they are gone, they leave a big hole, not a legacy.  When they are gone, they are missed because only then will we realize how important they are to us.  As your pastor, I thank God that we have a lot of servants in our church who do not care for legacy.  You only care that the work is done. 

In his book, A Long Obedience in the Same Direction, Eugene H. Peterson, writes, “A servant Christian is the freest person on earth.” We are free because we serve voluntarily.  We are free because we want to serve not only God, but also men.  We are free because it is truly an honor to serve.  We are free because Christ has set us free.

Pastor Paul