Molding Ourselves to Jesus

Gospel reflection for Luke 17: 7-10

Today’s readings can be found on the USCCB website.

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Image by Bruno Nascimento via Unsplash

'We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do.'

Luke 17:10.

I want to be irked by being told that I am nothing more than a slave or a servant. I’ve believed the internal lie that it means that I am worthless. But here’s where I went wrong - being unprofitable does not mean worthless. And ‘what we were obliged to do’ is not meant to conjure up pictures of being overworked and rueful.

I think I’ve often misunderstood what we were meant to do. We need only look at Jesus to understand what it is our task as humans is. Jesus, the most unprofitable servant. He did what he was obliged to do. But he wasn’t rueful about it. And he certainly wasn’t worthless; he knew he was beloved by the Father. Did he finish his life on earth unprofitable? While on earth, he was characterized by humility, by lowliness. His power was that which the Father manifested in and through him. Yet he accomplished the task that he was meant to do: to be human with us, but in the way we are meant to be. And in his resurrection, our humanity is divinized through him. This means that as much he lives in us, we can expect to be just as unprofitable doing what we are obliged to do; through our obedience to God, it is God’s work in us that gives any profit to what we do.

Jesus shows us that love and obedience are synonymous: he loves his Father so much that he is completely obedient to his will. He showed us what being a new creation in God’s Kingdom looks like. Now, baptised into new life, God’s Kingdom is made manifest in us whenever we, too, can allow convergence between that obedience to God which is due and our love for God. The saints show us how true this is.

What instances do we encounter each day that remind us of this? For me, being a parent has often underscored this message: I am an unprofitable servant; I am doing what I am obliged to do. As a parent, my love is my obedience to serving my children as best as I am able. And, more often than I can keep track of, living my obedience in love brings me the greatest joy.