Committing oneself to love (Marcy St. John)

    In [this past Sunday’s] gospel, Jesus gives instructions to his apostles, and they don’t sound, at first, very generous or loving. It comes just after the apostles have asked Jesus to increase their faith, and while he describes the power of faith, even faith the size of a mustard seed, he doesn’t grant their wish. Instead, he tells them about this master and how he treats his servant. 

 

   Here is a servant who works all day for the master and now comes into the house. But the servant is not allowed to rest. She must continue serving the man, and it is only when the man is fully served and the house put in order that the servant can eat and drink. Not only that, the servant is to remind herself that she is an unprofitable servant who has done what she is obliged to do. This sound harsh, too. Is one never to think that one’s work is done, to instead say I have served my master well today? I have done all that was asked, and have not shown myself to be unprofitable? 

    I think of the work that is done throughout the day, ordinary work, to take care of those you care for – your family, your spouses, your friends, your children, your animal companions. It never ends because that love you have for them never ends. My mother had five children, two under age four, when my parents’ marriage ended, and when she fell sick, we were useless children – loved, taken care of, but useless in taking care of her. What Jesus is saying, I think, is that, when it comes to discipleship, committing oneself to the love that is in Christ Jesus, it is never done. 

    Pope Francis says that this passage teaches that the Christian life requires both faith and service; they cannot be separated. He likens the Christian life to a carpet being woven, with the weft of faith and the warp of service. We do serve others, not for a reward or for an expectation for everlasting life, but because it increases our love for the world, and it is our way of navigating toward Jesus. It is our way of following Jesus, seeking to follow his instructions and sharing his love in what we do. 

--Marcy St. John,
OLMC, November 14, 2023 

Image source: https://hereinislove-glorifyhim.blogspot.com/2012/05/unprofitable-servants.html