10th NOVEMBER.TUESDAY OF WEEK 32

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1st Reading: Wisdom 2:23-3:9

God created us for incorruption, and made us in the image of his own eternity, but through the devil's envy death entered the world, and those who belong to his company experience it.

But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and no torment will ever touch them. In the eyes of the foolish they seem to have died, and their departure was thought to be a disaster, and their going from us to be their  destruction; but they are at peace. For though in the sight of others they were punished, their hope is full of immortality. Having been disciplined a little, they will receive great good, because God tested them and found them worthy of himself; like gold in the furnace he tried them, and like a sacrificial burnt offering he accepted them.

In the time of their visitation they will shine forth, and will run like sparks through the stubble. They will govern nations and rule over peoples, and the Lord will reign  over them forever. Those who trust in him will understand truth, and the faithful will abide with him in love, because grace and mercy are upon his holy ones, and he watches over his elect.

Gospel: Luke 17:7-10

"Who among you would say to your slave who has just come in from ploughing or tending  sheep in the field, ' Come here at once and take your place at the table'? Would you not rather say to him, ' Prepare supper for me put on your apron and serve me while I eat and drink; later you may eat and drink'? Do you thank the slave for doing what was commanded? So you also, when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, ' We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done.

REFLECTIONS AND MEDITATIONS ON THE READINGS

Struggling with Pride

In life, pride is something we probably  all struggle with. The more good we appear to be doing, the more we become tempted to pride. The parable in today's gospel warns us against that tendency to pride on the part of those who do their duty and indeed do it well. In the gospel today, Jesus declares, " When you have done all you have been told to do, say " We are worthless, slaves we have done our part....". If we clearly remember well in another parable Jesus spoke of the Pharisee and the tax collector, the pharisee displayed of the dutiful person; he boasted of the good life that he lived, and seemed to be of the view that his virtue gave him a claim on God. The good news is that we don't need a claim on God. However, no matter how well we live, no matter how much we do what God asks of us,  we never have a claim on God; we don't need to score points to be sure of God's favor. God has already favored us and keeps on favoring us by giving us his Son. In response to that gift, we try to serve God faithfully, by doing his will, in so far as we can discern it. Our faithful service of the Lord will always be only a pale reflection of the Lord's service of us.

Attitude of a servant

Charles swindoll said something about attitude. He said: " The longer  I longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude to me is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than success than what other people say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company..... a church..... a home. The remarkable thing is that we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past.....we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the innevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have and that is our attitude... I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you..... we are in charge of our attitudes."

In today' s gospel, Jesus wants to teach us about the basic attitude of a servant or a worker like us. A servant is simply there to work and to accomplish the household duties that are expected of him/her. His purpose is to correct the way the Scribes and Pharisees relate with God. They thought of religion as a contract between master and servant. They performed their religious duties in the hope of getting special reward and better treatment in His Kingdom.

This is also correct on our attitude of congratulating ourselves for the good things we did. Always we tend to assume that if we obey God's commandments, God is somehow in debt with us, that He owes us some rewards in return. However Jesus says that  God owes nothing. We can never put God in our debt. We must regard ourselves as God's servants, just as Jesus came " not to be served, but to serve" ( Matt 20:28). The problem with us is that we are so very concern with merit of the good things we have done and self-satisfaction. The best thing that we can do is to let God decide if we deserve it or not. Let us concentrate, not on ourselves, but on God alone.