***
Gospel: Luke 17: 7-10
Jesus said to the Apostles:
“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.’”
The Gospel of the Lord.
***
***
On his deathbed, Saint Francis of Assisi said to his brothers, the first Franciscans, “I have done what is mine to do. Now you must do what is yours to do.”
***
Francis viewed himself like the unprofitable servant in today’s Gospel. He didn’t need worldly accolades or praise. While he rebuilt the Church spiritually, and his example still inspires people eight centuries later, Francis simply did, “what was his to do.”
Jesus sees his Apostles similarly. Elsewhere, he calls them his, “servants.” They were elected by the Lord to work, to build the kingdom of God in four particular ways.
Using Gospel imagery, Jesus tells his Apostles they must:
Plow the fields, spreading the Word of God wherever they go by planting seeds of faith.
Tend God’s sheep, always keeping a shepherd’s heart, by seeking out the lost.
Wait on others, seeing themselves as those who come to serve, not to be served.
Eat and drink. The Apostles are called to prepare the table of the Lord by celebrating the Eucharist, feeding the first Christians with the Body and Blood of Christ.
***
Which of these four things might the Lord be calling us to do?
Plowing the fields, spreading the Word of God; tending God’s sheep, seeking out the lost; waiting on others, being their servant; or eating and drinking, inviting people to the table of the Lord.
***
“I have done what is mine to do,” Saint Francis said 800 years ago. “Now you must do what is yours to do.”
We are simply God’s servants, his hands and feet in the world.
***
***
Image credits: (1) iFunny, St. Francis (2) R. Weber, Tending the Fields (3) thenivbible.com