“Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle…”
Paul, addressing the Romans from afar, thus the need to place his name, makes an interesting placement with his words at the outset of his letter. Before being called an apostle, he is first of all a servant of Jesus Christ. “He gave some apostles, and some prophets, and other some evangelists, and other some pastors and doctors...” (Ephesians 4:11). It is not in the office one takes or in the work one does, but to do what is set before someone with extraordinary love. To serve Jesus Christ is to love one another in Christ, to love with a wise yet abounding love. So while St. Paul is one of the Apostles, he is first and foremost, like you and all others that bear the name of Christ, called to be a servant. Now St. Paul’s name means “wonderful” or “chosen,” and in this you can find the imprint of St. Paul on your own soul, for you are wonderfully made, “How beautiful art thou, my love, how beautiful art thou!” (Song 4:1) and chosen to be a bringer of the Gospel of love to those you encounter. It can also, in the Greek, mean “quiet,” and in the Latin “small.” In your littleness and brokenness, the Lord approaches you: “Whosoever is a little one, let him come to me” (Proverbs 9:4) and beckons you to Himself. How beautiful is the little soul! The one that can barely squeak to God, yet trust itself into His loving protection; he longs to bear you up to Himself, to hold you close to His breast with tenderness that you may listen to His Sacred Heart beat for you more than to admire your works of virtue and extraordinary accomplishments. No, whoever is a little one, run to Christ, that He may lift you to the heights you cannot attain on your own. While a servant seems a lowly place, and “I will not now call you servants… But I have called you friends” (John 15:15), it is a grand place to serve the great Master, for He is a mighty and holy king, conferring LOVE upon his people, for servitude of Christ is not the servitude of fear, but of love. For though you serve the great Lord, “My yoke is sweet and my burden light” (Matthew 11:30). It is a sweet, wonderful thing to serve a friend, to do for one that will be grateful and happy at what is done; He has paid your debt, everything now is a cultivation of love, an exchanging of gifts between lovers, and His eye is upon you always, rejoicing in every little act of love you put forward.