Responsorial Psalm Ps 37:3-4, 18 And 23, 27 And 29
Gospel Lk 17:7-10
So often when tragedy befalls us or life becomes difficult we cry out in protest “Why me? What did I do to deserve this?” as if God owes us something. This attitude betrays a certain self-centeredness and self-righteousness. We become the center of the universe. We fail to realize that we are nothing, that we deserve nothing. We have not asked seriously the question, “Where do I come from?” It is out of God’s infinite love that we exist. He created us and keeps us
in existence. Everything we are and everything we have is a gift from God. God does not owe us anything; rather we owe God everything. We are only servants. If God blesses us, it is out of his generosity, not because of a duty.
The fulfillment of a servant is to serve his master, to realize his master’s wishes. A good master is not indifferent to his servant or negligent in expressing his desires for the servant. He is genuinely interested in helping the servant fulfill his purpose by giving him a task to do. If we are God’s servants, surely there is something that God is asking of us. Like a good servant we must be attentive to God’s every desire and quickly respond. We cannot be a bad
servant who is sluggish and slow, hesitating at the Master’s command. Worse still we cannot be indignant, rejecting God’s command, presuming to deserve some favor or recompense. It is good to ask ourselves from time to time, “What is it that God is asking from me?”
We should be able to finish our life saying, “I am an unprofitable servant; I have done only what I was obliged to do.” It would be a pity to have to say at the end of our lives, “I have done less than I was obliged to do.” Yet that many times is the reality of our lives. We end up doing less then what we are obliged to do, never mind being a generous person and giving God more than the minimum he is asking from us. Would that we realize that our true happiness and true fulfillment lies in doing God’s will and that our doing less is only a source of misery for our lives.
I am sure that we are aware how many times we have rebelled against God. So often we think of ourselves as deserving happiness, or good fortune, or an easy life. Let us pray for the grace to recognize our nothingness. Let us try to appreciate the many blessings God has given us as generous manifestations of his love, and not as something that we deserve or have a right to. Let us be humble servants ready to act at God’s slightest command. Let us also accept all the misfortunes and difficulties that come our way with the humility of a servant who is not owed anything.