To serve or not to serve: That is not the question

Last Sunday, Jim McCormick challenged us to be willing to serve God and our fellow human beings.  He used the sentence “to serve or to be served: that’s the question.” That sentence is inspired on one of the most famous monologues in the English language which is “To be or not to be” from Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Even if literature is not your thing, I am sure you have heard somewhere the famous phrase “To be or not to be, that is the question.”

The thing is, the monologue in its original work is quite dark. Hamlet, the protagonist, is in a state of shock and grief as he has just discovered that his father was murdered. In this famous piece of poetry, he wonders whether it is worth living or if it is better to die.  Suicide is definitely one of the things he is considering.

Interestingly enough, Jesus went through something similar when He was in the Garden of Gethsemane.  It was there that he pondered the same issue of life or death.  It was there, that he said “Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” (Luke 22:42) As the text continues, we read this was a moment of excruciating anguish for Jesus because the text says, “He prayed more fervently, and he was in such agony of spirit that his sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood.” (Luke 22:44)

This was a matter of life and death. He had to choose between being a servant and go to die for us on the cross or not. He chose to fulfill the role that Scriptures had foretold for centuries. He chose to be the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53 so our debt could be paid, and we could have eternal life in Him. He chose to serve.

You should know that in Hebrew, Gethsemane means “place where the oil is pressed.” So, when Jesus made that choice, He was at the place where olives (which are very bitter in their natural state) are pressed, are crushed to get magnificent olive oil.  How appropriate!  Our Savior crushed His will so He could be the prefect servant.  Maybe it’s time we crush our will as well so we can be faithful servants of our Lord and Savior.