Patient Living as Expected

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to live fully serving love, truth and beauty as revealed to us through the Spirit.

Leading in Service

The reading from the Letter to Titus urges that our lifestyle teaches sound doctrine.

* [2:1–10] One of Titus’ main tasks in Crete is to become acquainted with the character of the Cretans and thereby learn to cope with its deficiencies (see Ti 1:12). The counsel is not only for Titus himself but for various classes of people with whom he must deal: older men and women (Ti 2:2–4), younger women and men (Ti 2:4–7), and slaves (Ti 2:9–10); cf. Eph 6:1–9; Col 3:18–4:1. (Titus, CHAPTER 2, n.d.)

Psalm 37 is an exhortation to patience and trust.

* [Psalm 37] The Psalm responds to the problem of evil, which the Old Testament often expresses as a question: why do the wicked prosper and the good suffer? The Psalm answers that the situation is only temporary. God will reverse things, rewarding the good and punishing the wicked here on earth. The perspective is concrete and earthbound: people’s very actions place them among the ranks of the good or wicked. Each group or “way” has its own inherent dynamism—eventual frustration for the wicked, eventual reward for the just. The Psalm is an acrostic, i.e., each section begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Each section has its own imagery and logic. (Psalms, PSALM 37, n.d.)

In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus instructs about the attitude of a servant.

* [17:7–10] These sayings of Jesus, peculiar to Luke, which continue his response to the apostles’ request to increase their faith (Lk 17:5–6), remind them that Christian disciples can make no claim on God’s graciousness; in fulfilling the exacting demands of discipleship, they are only doing their duty. (Luke, CHAPTER 17, n.d.)

Edward Morse comments that today’s readings remind us of the dignity to which we are called, particularly the dignity of servanthood. Servanthood is indispensable to our Christian faith.

In today’s gospel, our Lord illustrates that the habit of serving depends on commitment, not accolades or even gratitude.  Perhaps this is what the letter to Titus was getting at through identifying the need for training.  When the going gets tough – and it will – sometimes we simply must keep loving and serving.  Grace comes to us in those times, saving us from godless behavior and allowing us to persevere toward the hope of our salvation, following our Lord who indeed “gave himself for us to deliver us from all lawlessness and to cleanse for himself a people as his own, eager to do what is good.”    Lord, please help us to be eager to do what is good, to serve willingly and joyfully. Give us eyes to recognize true greatness in our midst in the form of servanthood and help us to express gratitude for their gifts.  Thanks be to God. (Morse, n.d.)

Don Schwager quotes “We are called to humble service,” by Ambrose of Milan, 339-397 A.D.

 

"You do not say to your servant, 'Sit down,' but require more service from him and do not thank him. The Lord also does not allow only one work or labor for you, because so long as we live we must always work.

"Know that you are a servant overwhelmed by very much obedience. You must not set yourself first, because you are called a son of God. Grace must be acknowledged, but nature not overlooked. Do not boast of yourself if you have served well, as you should have done. The sun obeys, the moon complies (Joshua 10:12-13; Baruch 6:60), and the angels serve... Let us not require praise from ourselves nor prevent the judgment of God and anticipate the sentence of the Judge but reserve it for its own time and Judge." (excerpt from EXPOSITION OF THE GOSPEL OF LUKE 8.31-32) (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Luke 17:7-10 comments that God 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, our 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 we have for God but in the love he has for us. Even when we can’t feel it, God is still pouring his love into us through his Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5). That means we can keep serving when we are 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.” (Meditation on Luke 17:7-10, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler notes the passage from Titus about acting in the community in a way that does not negate the Gospel but is an example of how to live for others. The reward for service is in the service. Friar Jude reminds us of the privilege of service as a means to love others as we are loved by God.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces author and preacher Barbara Brown Taylor writes about what she calls “holy envy,” befriending followers of different traditions, and allowing such friendships to enrich our own faith. She recalls a trip she took with her students to a local Islamic center, and the inspiration it provided.

Once, at the end of a field trip to the Atlanta Masjid of Al-Islam, the imam ended his meeting with students by saying, “Our deepest desire is not that you become Muslim, but that you become the best Christian, the best Jew, the best person you can be. In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Thank you for coming.” Then he was gone, leaving me with a fresh case of holy envy.

I could do that, I thought. I could speak from the heart of my faith, wishing others well at the heart of theirs—including those who had no name for what got them through the night. It might mean taking down some fences, but turf was no longer the reigning metaphor. I was not imagining two separate yards with neighbors leaning over a shared boundary. I was imagining a single reservoir of living water, with two people looking into it. One might have been a Muslim and the other a Christian, but there was nothing in their faces to tell me that. All I saw were two human beings looking into deep waters that did not belong to either of them, reflecting back to them the truth that they were not alone. (Rohr, n.d.)

We are ambassadors of peace and love when we live as servant leaders who present the Way in our actions.

References

Luke, CHAPTER 17. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved November 8, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/17?7 

Meditation on Luke 17:7-10. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved November 8, 2022, from https://wau.org/meditations/2022/11/08/528992/ 

Morse, E. (n.d.). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved November 8, 2022, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/110822.htm l

Psalms, PSALM 37. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved November 8, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/37?3 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). Daily Meditations — Center for Action and Contemplation. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved November 8, 2022, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). We Have Only Done Our Duty. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved November 8, 2022, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2022&date=nov8 

Titus, CHAPTER 2. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved November 8, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/titus/2?1