Reading 1
Wis 2:23–3:9
God formed man to be imperishable;
the image of his own nature he made them.
But by the envy of the Devil, death entered the world,
and they who are in his possession experience it.
But the souls of the just are in the hand of God,
and no torment shall touch them.
They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead;
and their passing away was thought an affliction
and their going forth from us, utter destruction.
But they are in peace.
For if before men, indeed, they be punished,
yet is their hope full of immortality;
Chastised a little, they shall be greatly blessed,
because God tried them
and found them worthy of himself.
As gold in the furnace, he proved them,
and as sacrificial offerings he took them to himself.
In the time of their visitation they shall shine,
and shall dart about as sparks through stubble;
They shall judge nations and rule over peoples,
and the Lord shall be their King forever.
Those who trust in him shall understand truth,
and the faithful shall abide with him in love:
Because grace and mercy are with his holy ones,
and his care is with his elect.
Gospel
Lk 17:7-10
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.’”
Meditation: Luke 17:7-10
At first glance, Jesus’ words to his disciples might seem quite harsh.
Essentially, he told them that if they just did what he commanded, they would be nothing more than unworthy servants. Was he expecting them to slave even harder? Was he telling them that if they just did a little bit more, they’d become “worthy” servants who would merit his pleasure? Not at all! God is never indebted to us. We owe God everything, even our very lives. We were created for him, not he for us.
Jesus’ parable shines a light on the kind of discipleship that he is calling us to, not the amount of work he’s looking for. We can choose to respond to him like slaves, or we can follow him in love and gratitude like friends. Jesus himself said that he wants to call us his friends, not his slaves (John 15:15). He wants us to know him as our brother, the most loyal companion we will ever have.
Have you ever thought about how easy it could be to work for God and yet never really know him? You could do all sorts of work for the church and the poor, either out of a sense of duty or out of a desire to ensure a place in heaven. But if we respond to God this way, we’ve missed the point. He is calling us to a relationship of love, not one of slavery. Those who think like duty-bound slaves miss out on an inspiring experience of life in the kingdom of God. They won’t know a relationship with Jesus that can fill them so deeply that they long to give everything back to him.
Of course, there are things we must do as his disciples. Jesus has told us to obey his commandments. But there are things that we do for Jesus just because we love him—like turning our hearts to him during a busy day or going out of our way to help one of his little ones. So go ahead and respond to Jesus out of love today. There’s nothing better than pouring out our lives in service to him and his people!
“Jesus, thank you for giving your life for me. I praise you because of what you did on the cross. And now I freely give my life back to you.”
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