Tuesday of
the 32nd Week in Ordinary Time
Memorial
of Saint Leo the Great
November 10, 2015 8:30am
The people to whom Jesus is
speaking in today’s gospel would have reacted very differently from the way we
do.
We tend to think that, yes, it
would be the Christian thing for a boss to invite his worker to sit down and
have a meal with him and to thank the worker for what he did.
But the people of Jesus’ day probably
have no trouble with what he is saying.
The reason is that they are living
in a world of masters and slaves.
At first, Jesus asks them to
imagine that they are a master with servants.
And he asks them if the master
would have invited the slaves to sit at table or would have expressed gratitude
to them.
Jesus’ disciples would have
responded, “Of course not! That’s ridiculous!”
This just would not happen and
would not be expected in the master/slave relationship.
Then, in effect, Jesus reverses
things and asks them to imagine that they are the slaves or servants.
And he says, as disciples, they should
not expect any special reward or acclaim for doing good.
They are only doing what is
expected.
For us, that might mean that we dutifully
raise our children, we take care of our elderly parents, or we participate in
the Thanksgiving and Christmas Adopt-A-Family Program.
Jesus is saying that the reward
is in the doing.
The reward is in the inner
feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment.
More spiritually, the reward is
in the fullness of being that comes from using the opportunities and gifts God
has given us.
The reward is in being good
servants of God and in the inner relationship with God, the joy and peace with
God that this brings us.
That, for Jesus’ disciples, is to
be our motive and the reward that we seek.
