In Luke 17, 7-10 we read, “Jesus said to His disciples: ‘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!’”
In the days of the public ministry of Jesus, a time marked by the slavery of fellow humans, those slaves who did what their masters ordered, did not expect to be thanked for doing so. Carrying out orders did not put their master under any obligation to them. Something similar applies in our relationship with God. Even though we are called to serve God in our lives and our worship, the grace of God remains a free gift and not something that we have earned or merited.
As we know from personal experience, we try to do our duty as best we can, day in and day out. But at the end of the day, even after doing all that God asks of us, we come before Him with empty hands. Let’s not forget, though, that it is our poverty that opens us up to receive divine mercy. It is by becoming like little children that we enter the Kingdom. In the words of Mary’s prayer (the Magnificat), “God feeds the hungry with good things, but the rich He sends empty away.”
