Jesus said to the Apostles: “Who among you would say to your servant who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field, ‘Come here immediately and take your place at table’? Would he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare something for me to eat. Put on your apron and wait on me while I eat and drink. You may eat and drink when I am finished’? Is he grateful to that servant because he did what was commanded? So should it be with you. When you have done all you have been commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do.” (Luke 17:7-10)
In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells us how we are to serve the Lord. We must remember that God does not owe us anything and that we are endlessly indebted to Him. Even if we do what we are obliged to do, we must still do more, since we can never repay the debt we owe to our Creator. Our modern sensibilities tell us that once we have completed our duty, the job is done and we need to give nothing further. Regarding our service to God, this is not the correct attitude. No matter how much we are asked to serve, we must strive to serve even more. This is not because God is some ruthless taskmaster. This expectation is actually for our own personal good. God calls us to be better than we are and better than we think we can be. He constantly pushes us forward past our perceived limits in order to make us into the perfect being that He intended us to be. If we only complete the duties that we are obliged to do, we do not move forward in holiness but instead stagnate where we are. We should always strive to give more and more and still more to God until our last breath.
Copyright 2022 Jessica Tucker
Awesome reflection.... I always consider what St Ambrose wrote on this passage .... The sun obeys, the moon complies, and the angels serve.... what more should we have done who have been redeemed...
Know that you are a servant overwhelmed by very much obedience. You must not set yourself first, because you are called a son of God. Grace must be acknowledged, but nature not overlooked. Do not boast of yourself if you have served well, as you should have done. The sun obeys, the moon complies, and the angels serve.… Let us not require praise from ourselves nor prevent the judgment of God and anticipate the sentence of the Judge but reserve it for its own time and Judge. (Exposition of the Gospel of Luke 342–43)
Beautiful reflection on the gospel today. “If we only complete the duties that we are obliged to do, we do not move forward in holiness but instead stagnate where we are.” - this really challenged me this morning. I am currently studying the topic of “the last things” to teach an RCIA class tonight and this quote is the perfect “why” to meditate on while contemplating this topic. Thank you!