Daily Mass Gospel Reflection - Built for Obedience

Word on Fire Ministry ^ | 11.08.22 | Bishop Robert Barron

[MurphsLaw]

Thirty-second week in Ordinary Time
Luke 17:7–10

Friends, today’s Gospel describes the obedience of a faithful servant.
Our lives are not about us; they are about the King.
We are built not for commanding others but for obedience.
In the presence of the awesome lordliness of God—
that mind and will whose grandeur we can barely fathom—
we bow, we listen, we surrender.

The Lord is the King, the one who commands,
directs, and oversees, and who, accordingly, demands obedience.
For a military tribe such as the ancient Hebrews,
this term had, to be sure, an especially powerful resonance.
The proper response to a king is obedience.
The king commands, and the servant responds—simply, promptly, unhesitatingly.

A courtier or a messenger might not understand the rationale for
or consequences of what the king has told him to do, but he does it,
trusting in the wisdom and power of the one who sends him.
The word "obey" is derived from the Latin obedire, to listen attentively, to heed.
In the presence of God the Lord, we his servants should listen,
bending our ears and our wills to his word.

[MurphsLaw]

+++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.’”+++

[TalBlack]

“…we bow, we listen, we surrender…”

Which is why some people can’t stand the idea of an Almighty God; they don’t want to bow to anyone.

[MurphsLaw]

For sure... no doubt...

It's like the easy button...

"Enter by the narrow gate;
for the gate is wide and the way is easy,[a] that leads to destruction,
and those who enter by it are many..."