The New Norm of Greatness

by Rev. Lynne Hinton

In one of his speeches, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke about the new norm of greatness given to us by Jesus. As we celebrate Dr. King’s birthday this weekend, I share with you this statement to remind us all of the people we are called to be.

“Jesus gave us a new norm of greatness. If you want to be important – wonderful. If you want to be recognized – wonderful. If you want to be great – wonderful. But recognize that he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. That’s your new definition of greatness. And this morning, the thing that I like about it…by giving that definition of greatness, it means that everybody can be great. Because everybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You don’t have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve. You don’t have to know Einstein’s theory of relativity to serve. You don’t have to know the second theory of thermo-dynamics in physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love. And you can be that servant.”

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

           As you move through this week and especially during the holiday, consider being great! Consider how it is you serve.