This Sunday\u2019s gospel contains two parables, the second of which might confuse us. Up until the last verse, it seems that Jesus\u2019 parable is about the master. He seems to approve of the master\u2019s rather harsh attitude. \u201cWill any one of you,\u201d he asks, invite your servant to join you at table after their long, hard day of work in the fields? One might perhaps expect Jesus to encourage His disciples to be unlike the masters of their time and treat the servant with compassion. But that is not the purpose of Jesus\u2019 parable. \u201cWill he [the master] not rather say to him, \u2018Prepare supper for me, and gird yourself and serve me [\u2026]?\u2019 Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded?\u201d (Luke 17:8-9).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At this point, we might wonder where Jesus is going with this. He seems to be reinforcing the prevailing view in the ancient world according to which slaves were worth less than everyone else and hence did not deserve to be treated with love and respect. Then the metaphor takes an unexpected turn: \u201cSo you also, when you<\/em> have done all that is commanded you<\/em>, say, \u2018We<\/em> are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty\u2019\u201d (v. 10, my emphasis). Now, all of a sudden, instead of the focus being on the master, it is on the servant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Does this mean that the master in the parable is God? Is Jesus saying that God will treat us this way after our lives of struggle and pain, giving us a harsh welcome and giving us more work to do? Is this a metaphor for Purgatory?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rather than speaking about God, I think Jesus does intend the entire parable to be about and for us, who are servants. But why not tell the whole parable from the servant\u2019s perspective? Perhaps it is because the attitude of the typical servant may not have been to cheerfully serve and say with a grin, \u201cI just did my job!\u201d If servants of Jesus\u2019 time are anything like we are in the workplace today, I suspect that servants grumbled and complained behind their masters\u2019 backs, especially if they had to prepare dinner after ten or twelve hours of backbreaking labour. Servants\u2019 masters, on the other hand, were probably very much like the one in the parable, seeing the work of the servants as their duty, and thus as something they should do readily and without complaining.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So what is Jesus saying? I believe that Jesus is telling us we should have the attitude of the master, but as servants<\/em>. That is, we should see our work the way the master in the parable sees his servant\u2019s work. Jesus does not suggest that masters should behave like the one in the gospel. It is rather that we, labouring under difficult conditions in our earthly existence, should patiently pick up our cross and accept whatever comes to us, recognizing that all good things are the Lord\u2019s gift to us and were earned by Him, not us. Our work cannot earn us eternal life, so we have no right to demand it. At the end of our lives, we are called to humbly present ourselves before the Lord and say, \u201cMaster, I have nothing to show you. In all my life, I have just done my duty, and even that, I have not always done well.\u201d Seeing this humility, Our Lord will say, \u201cWell done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a little, I will set you over much; enter into the joy of your master\u201d (Matt. 25:23).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Andrew Sheedy<\/strong> \u2013 St. Joseph Seminary, Edmonton, Alberta<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fot. Mateus Campos Felipe\/Unsplash.com<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":2671,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,17,18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2670","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-strona-glowna-najnowsze","category-strona-glowna-slider"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n