Lesser
Festival for Ambrose, bishop, teacher of the faith, 397
Sometimes, God surprises us. We can be
minding our own business, doing nothing out of the ordinary, when suddenly, God
turns things upside down for us and we have to learn how to trust and follow
the Spirit a little more. Ambrose, Bishop of Milan, knew this. He was governor
of the Roman province of Milan when he came to the Church to prevent a fight
and mob violence over the succession of a new bishop, when the crowd turned on
him and nominate him to become bishop. Within a week, he was baptized, ordained
as a priest and consecrated as bishop. But he saw himself first and foremost as
a servant of God.
After becoming bishop, Ambrose donated
much of his wealth to the poor and had essentially an open-door policy: anyone
could visit him when they wanted. In many ways, he was responding to Jesus’s
articulation of greatest in the Kingdom of God: the leader is the one who serves.
This backwards, Kingdom of Heaven logic part of that secret or hidden wisdom of
God, revealed to us as we live it out by the Holy Spirit. As we live out the
way of Jesus, we live out his heart of service and his love and grace for all.
May we this Advent follow the way of
Jesus, as Ambrose did, living into the Kingdom of service, of love, and of
grace empowered by the Holy Spirit. And may we be open to the surprises God has
in store for us.
God roept ons
op om dienaar te zijn, zoals Christus een dienaar van allen was. Mogen wij deze
Kerstmis de weg van Christus volgen en in zijn Koninkrijk leven.
Jeremy Heuslein
Saint Ambrose barring Theodosius I from Milan Cathedral
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