Dear Church Family,
Today, Jesus is again challenging us to put Him first in our lives. St. Paul, along with our Lord, is telling us to “Stir into flame” our faith. Jesus says, “Beloved, I remind you to stir into flame the gift of God that you have through the imposition of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and self-control.” Then we hear the gospel challenge even in the midst of all the struggles in the world as Habakkuk tries to make sense of all the suffering in the world. Yet the Lord God is saying He will be with us no matter what. But we hear this great challenge that we are to be servants. He says to each of us, “Here we are humbly, nothing but a servant to the Lord as Jesus is the servant to all servants.”
We hear the words, “We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we’re obliged to do.” When I hear those words year after year I think of my priest friend who died over thirty-five years ago. I used to play tennis with him and he used to beat me. But he also was most remarkable and intelligent. He was in a lot of higher learning and he was doing with his talents what he could do, but the Lord called him home. He put on the back of his car in 1979 these words, “When you have done all you have been commanded to do, say: We are useless servants we have done no more that our duty.”
I really feel over and over again every third year this message that Jesus is calling us to be like him, a servant to all. Just do our good deeds and keep doing them. It’s just our duty. We don’t deserve credit for it. We don’t want to be concerned with building up merits but just doing it and the Lord will take care of us. We do it because we love Him and everybody else. Keep those challenging words in your mind and hearts. Alleluia!
Love, Fr. Bob
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