Who
among you would say to your servantwho 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.’
Luke 17:5-10
The
theme of this blog is that God’s relationship to us is an existential one. We are not required to perform any task to
earn God’s love. In fact, God’s love is
unearnable. Nothing we can do can give
us a legitimate claim on it.
This
Sunday’s Gospel affirms that theme. No
matter how attentive, industrious and obedient the servants are, they nonetheless
decline to claim reward [1].
[1]
See, e.g.: Raymond Brown, et al. The New St. Jerome Biblical Commentary Upper
Saddle River, NY: Prentice Hall, 1990) 709
Photo: Vermont
Country Road, Kristina Applegate
