WE ARE UNPROFITABLE SERVANTS

G O S P E L
Luke 17:5-10

And the apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.” The Lord replied, “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.

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.’”

PRAYER AND REFLECTION

Senior , ego sum an vernula ; ego perfectus quis ego eram adstringo efficio. ego operor non mereo mereor futurus duco in vestri traba pro ego sum iustus a humilis opus of vestri agri. Totus ego est validus fides in vos ut usquequaque dignitas suus remuneror in conveniens per meus obsequium officium vos mando volo.

Lord, I am an unprofitable servant; I have done what I was obliged to do. I do not deserve to be counted in your table for I am just a lowly worker of your field. All I have is the strong faith in you that always merit its rewards in accordance with my obedience of the obligations you have entrusted to me.

It has always been a common weakness of man to expect recognition and appreciation for a service that he has done voluntarily. On the contrary, the Lord sees such work as not voluntary, but rather an obligation of a servant to his Lord or Master. To the one who has, more is demanded . . .

In the Christian life, we are taught to look at our service as a privilege to work in the Lord’s vineyard but moreover, this is an obligation that each person must do.

My term of office as the Head Servant of the Parish Pastoral Council ends by October 12, 2007, but this does not exempt me from the obligations that I must do as a servant of the Lord. I have committed my life to serving Him and He has given me vast ways in order to do so.

In my life as a servant, I have learned not to seek any recognition or appreciation for any undertaking or service that I did in accordance with the responsibilities that have been placed on my shoulders. Instead, I have viewed all of these as part of my obligations to God, who has made me worker in His kingdom.

I work for Him and sure enough, I always get paid in amazing ways one could ever imagine!