The Gospel for The memorial of St. Josaphat, bishop and martyr, is taken from Luke 17:7, 10 Jesus said to the apostles, who among you would say to your servant, who has just come in from ploughing 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 the 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 are obliged to do. Throughout the Gospel, Jesus honors those that understand the role of being in service to others. And what’s clear in this story, what he’s saying, is that when you are doing your work, when you are serving, you don’t deserve any kind of special attention or special acknowledgment. But there is a way to understand this role of service as key to the kingdom of heaven. The one who serves is the greatest.

Please take a few moments to reflect on these thoughts and then I will close with a prayer. Closing Prayer Father, we often find life drudgery and sometimes just repeating the same things over and over again. But give us a sense of the dignity of doing something for someone else that’s at the heart of the gospel. That’s who we are to become. And we ask this in Jesus name, Amen.