Today’s gospel can sound startling and uncomfortable to a rational, Western mind like mine. Jesus’ story uses the social structure of his time to make a point. You wouldn’t invite your servant to sit down at the table and serve you. His listeners understood – that would have been unthinkable.
Jesus says: “Is he grateful to that servant because he did what was commanded?” That may make our modern ears uncomfortable because few of us have servants today and we can’t comprehend a social structure that is so delineated.
But I think Jesus is really asking us today to have an attitude of service. Each of us can be “of service” in our lives. Service is an attitude and adopting that attitude at the start of every day can change our lives. That is not being subjected to an unhealthy domination by someone, but something different. The root of the word “obey” means to put the needs of another ahead of our own. What a difference we would see in our relationships and our lives if we continually put the needs of others head of our own. We would find ourselves less selfish and self-absorbed and more loving.
It is what parents do for their children and what spouses are called to do for each other in marriage. If I put the needs of my spouse ahead of my own, I am less likely to find fault and to grouse and grumble about my partner’s faults. Instead I will have embraced the kind of humility that allows me to serve in the most real way.
Pope Francis recently exhorted two new Bishops to be “always in service” asking them to “Keep in mind that you were selected to serve, not to dominate.” This is the message the Pope has been giving over and over – and it is the message of Jesus, the one who said, “The greatest among you must be your servant.”
Maureen McCann Waldron
The most important part of my life is my family – Jim my husband of 47 years and our two children. Our daughter Katy, a banker here in Omaha, and her husband John, have three wonderful children: Charlotte, Daniel and Elizabeth Grace. Our son Jack and his wife, Ellie, have added to our joy with their sons, Peter and Joseph.
I think family life is an incredible way to find God, even in (or maybe I should say, especially in) the most frustrating or mundane moments.
I am a native of the East Coast after graduating in 1971 from Archbishop John Carroll High School in suburban Philadelphia. I graduated from Creighton University in 1975 with a degree in Journalism and spent most of the next 20 years in corporate public relations in Omaha. I returned to Creighton in the 1990s and completed a master’s degree in Christian Spirituality in 1998.
As our children were growing up, my favorite times were always family dinners at home when the four of us would talk about our days. But now that our kids are gone from home, my husband and I have rediscovered how nice it is to have a quiet dinner together. I also have a special place in my heart for family vacations when the kids were little and four of us were away from home together. It’s a joy to be with my growing family.
Writing a Daily Reflection is always a graced moment, because only with God’s help could I ever write one. I know my own life is hectic, disjointed and imperfect and I know most of us have lives like that. I usually write from that point of view and I always seem to find some sentence, some word in the readings that speaks right to me, in all of my imperfection. I hope that whatever I write is in some way supportive of others.
It’s an incredibly humbling experience to hear from someone who was touched by something I wrote. Whether the note is from someone across campus or across the world, it makes me realize how connected we are all in our longing to grow closer to God.
