There is no sin that Jesus spoke against to frequently and hit so hard as the sin of selfishness, that sense that you are "Number One".
Picture Jesus the footwasher.
Picture Jesus on the cross.
Picture that dramatic scene in Matthew's Gospel when Jesus tells of the end of time when the people of all the nations are assembled and he says to some of them, "I was hungry, I was thirsty, I was a stranger, I was without clothes, and you didn't respond to my needs."
Imagine responding to the Lord, "But I'm Number One."
It doesn't fit when we say the "Our Father."
It doesn't fit when we gather around the Eucharistic table.
Who is that faithful and prudent servant the Lord sets over his household? It is the one who attends to the needs of others before his own.
Are you that kind of servant?
- Little Burgundy Book, Diocese of Saginaw