32ND WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

We have done what we were obliged to do. 

The word “gospel” means “good news,” but sometimes that news—like today’s Gospel reading from Luke—can make us feel a bit uncomfortable. Jesus talks about serving God and taking care of what he wants done even when we have unmet needs of our own. He talks about doing all that’s commanded and counting it as only our “duty.” We should expect no special gratitude because obeying his commands doesn’t make us special; it makes us obedient servants. And that shoe pinches a little, doesn’t it?

So what is Jesus saying here? Is our relationship with him supposed to resemble that of a master and his slave? Well, God does ask us to obey his commands, but we also know that Jesus died and rose so that we could become his beloved sons and daughters. The real slavery he freed us from is slavery to our worldly passions and desires. Now he invites us into a relationship based on love and mercy, one that involves a divine exchange of our hearts with his. We give him the love that we have in our hearts, and he gives us . . . himself!

As that exchange happens, your acts of obedience are rooted less and less in a sense of obligation and more and more in love for God. And not just in the love you have for God but in the love he has for you. Even when you can’t feel it, God is still pouring his love into you through his Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5). That means you can keep serving when you’re tired. Or hungry. Or worried. When the baby is fussy, the boss is demanding, or the friend is complaining. All because of this divine exchange of love.

The next time you find yourself struggling to meet yet another need, take a moment to cry out to the Lord, “Increase your love in me!” Trust the Holy Spirit to show you how to receive that love and to give you evidence that it is growing in you. Then you can say, “I am just doing what I am obliged to do,” and know the love that eases the pinch.

“Jesus, help me to trust you and experience your love for me as I grow in being your obedient servant.”

Titus 2:1-8, 11-14
Psalm 37:3-4, 18, 23, 27, 29
Luke 17:7-10