Tuesday, 32nd Week in Ordinary Time
Old Calendar: St. Martin; St. Mennas, martyr
From: Luke 17:7-10
Humble Service
[7] "Will any of you, who has a servant ploughing or keeping sheep, say to him when he has come in from the field, `Come at once and sit down at table'? [8] Will he not rather say to him, `Prepare supper for me, and gird yourself and serve me, till I eat and drink; and afterward you shall eat and drink'? [9] Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? [10] So you also, when you have done all that is commanded you, say, `We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.'"
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Commentary:
7-10. Jesus is not approving this master's abusive and arbitrary behavior: He is using an example very familiar to His audience to show the attitude a person should have towards his Creator: everything, from our very existence to the eternal happiness promised us, is one huge gift from God. Man is always in debt to God; no matter what service he renders Him he can never adequately repay the gifts God has given him. There is no sense in a creature adopting a proud attitude towards God. What Jesus teaches us here we see being put into practice by our Lady, who replied to God's messenger (the Archangel Gabriel), "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord" (Luke 1:38).
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Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.
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