Listen

Jesus replied, “You don’t know what you’re asking! Can you drink the cup I drink or receive the baptism I receive?”

“We can,” they answered.

Jesus said, “You will drink the cup I drink and receive the baptism I receive, but to sit at my right or left hand isn’t mine to give. It belongs to those for whom it has been prepared.”

Mark 10:38-40

Think

Every one of us has known the desire to be “chosen.” Whether you hope to be picked for a sports team or a special privilege, a new job or a lead role in a play, it can start to feel like your entire sense of self-worth hangs in the balance. If you are not chosen, the result is devastating. If you turn out to be the chosen one, you feel overjoyed and proud… until you move on and start worrying about being chosen for something else.

If we tie our value up in our accomplishments, we will become conceited when we succeed and feel worthless when we fail. But if we listen to the words of Jesus, who promises that our true value is found in our identity as children of God, we will always feel chosen — and always remember that we are of infinite worth.

Catherine Healy

Pray

God, you have prepared a place for me in heaven, and you have promised to love me and take care of me, no matter what. Help me to trust in your promises and remember that I am more than the sum of things I am good at. Amen.

Go

When the dreams you’re dreamin’ come to you,

when the work you put in is realized,

let yourself feel the pride,

but always stay humble and kind.

from “Humble and Kind” by Lori McKenna (2015)