God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and truth. - John 4:24

"I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants"

Todays Gospel talks about the importance of being a servant. Basically, being a servant doesnt only mean to plainly follow the commands of our leaders. But to be a servant for others. Just like if our mother says to wash the dishes, you just dont wash it only. But you also need to wipe it and put that dishes back to where it is supposedly to be. Being a servant doesnt degrade your lifestyle or your personality. Instead, it helps you to grow. And eventually, from being a servant, you also become a leader. Serving others may be difficult for us, the youth, because we are spoon-fed by our parents or the elderly too much. They give not just for what we need but most of the time they try their best to give our wants. We always depend on them. Shortly, they are the ones who serves us. But isnt it the right time to serve? Since our ye weekend encounter already draws near, we should take a step higher and take out our "servant beings" not just only for our community but also for ourselves.

Based on my experience, after I joined my ye weekend I really dont want to come in any of the meetings or even praise and worships neither those word sharing circles if my "pals" wont come. I feel so ashamed and left out whenever I was present then I dont have "kakilala" in the community. Yes, there are also times that I am not around for my own unexcusable absences and choosing to be lay-low because of school or extra curricular activities. In that way, I had sinned to the Lord because I always reject His calling. But as my journey with Him goes farther, my faith also gets deeper and through those experiences He gave me, He made me realized that I really dont need somebody to push or pull me to come and join the community. He always welcomes me with open arms. I could hear Him saying, "Im happy to see you. Now that you are here, make yourself as a productive servant."

So as you can notice, our God is a forgiving God that He forgives us in every sin we make. And through His bountiful blessings and great understanding, even if we fail at any point in ourlives we can manage to pick ourselves up and move further. For the Lord wants us not just only to be served, but also to serve.

Good day ahead and God bless.

-Inna Quintela