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GospelThink

Tuesday, November 12

LUKE 17:7-10

I give you my idea of being a servant to all.

Prayerthoughts
a. The Lord spends some time with the idea of being a servant, a person who waits on others. As I interact with others, do I interact with them as with the thought that I am their servant?

b. As I think of the calling to be a servant, what are three main characteristics that a true servant should have? (This is the task of the meditation.)

c. Do I honestly feel that those around me are more important than I am?

d. How does pride enter into my life right now?

e. My prayerthoughts…
 

Today, I will carry out letter b.

Some Thoughts on the Liturgy

BEING A SERVANT

+ Paul gives an interesting comment about our behavior in the first reading:

         - younger men must have integrity in their lives “so that the opponent will be put to shame without anything bad to say about us”

                  - in effect saying that there are people who choose or not choose Christianity based on our behavior

                            - of course, that shouldn’t be the criterion—the criterion ought to be whether they accept Jesus Christ or not

                                     - but it is a truly human thought: people choose to believe in what we believe in depending on what kind of people we are

                                              - the great Mahatma Gandhi came close to Christianity, but chose not to embrace it because, as he said, I haven’t met a real Christian yet

+ One of the Christian characteristics that we should be developing so that others can understand our Christianity is the idea of servant-hood

         - Jesus says that that is what we are called to do

                  - be servants of others

         We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do.

         - what is a servant?

                  - someone who subjects his/her will to another with true humility

                            - to God for sure, following God’s directives through Jesus

                            - but also to one another

                                     - in fact, that is the whole point of Jesus’ story in the Gospel

                                              - his listeners knew what servants were

                                                       - they knew that the richer people among them had servants who waited on them

                                                                 - not that Jesus was advocating having servants—he merely wanted to point out what servants were doing

                                                                          - to bring home the point that we are called to be servants to one another

+ And so the question is formulated by the liturgy today: what kind of a servant are you, am I?

         - are we the type of people who want to work for others, who want to help them

                  - or are we the type of people who expect things from others, from our families, from our friends

         - it is a subtle mind-set to develop

                  - because it produces a Christian attitude of behavior—where we are looking for someone to make me feel good, etc.

                            - or where I consider it important to help others and where I make that a priority in my mind

+ And the point from Paul’s words to Titus—people are watching

         - if we are the servants that Jesus calls us to be, the chances are that people will feel good about being a Christian.

While Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the high priest’s maids came along. Seeing Peter warming himself, she looked intently at him and said, “You too were with the Nazarene, Jesus.” But he denied it saying, “I neither know nor understand what you are talking about.” So, he went out into the outer court. Then the cock crowed. The maid saw him and began again to say to the bystanders, “This man is one of them.” Once again, he denied it. A little later the bystanders said to Peter once more, “Surely you are one of them; for you too are a Galilean.” He began to curse and to swear, “I do not know this man about whom you are talking.” And immediately a cock crowed a second time. Then Peter remembered the word that Jesus had said to him, “Before the cock crows twice you will deny me three times.” He broke down and wept.

Gospelthink: As the leaders prepared to kill Jesus, Peter denies that he knows him.

“And for a fortnight there, we were forever. Run into you sometimes, ask about the weather.  Now you’re in my backyard, turned into good neighbors.  Your wife waters flowers. I wanna kill her. My husband is cheating; I wanna kill him. All my mornings are Mondays stuck in an endless February, I took the miracle move-on drug, the effects were temporary.  And I love you, it’s ruining my life. I touched you for only a fortnight, but I touched you.”

Peter obviously felt quite badly when he finally realized what he had done. He had denied that he knew this man whom he knew was the Messiah and his close friend.  Perhaps his previous knowledge of the good times with Jesus was something that gave him the courage to repent and accept once again the Lord of his life.

One of the encouraging things about our lives is that even in the midst of something very negative, we can always find something positive to help us.  We may not enjoy the present, but remembering a past positive may help a little.  Of course, we still have to deal with the present reality, but at least we will know that something good will return.  And, as Peter, knowledge of something good in the past might be able to move us to do something about a negative present moment.

Studying the scenario offered by the song “Fortnight,” from Taylor Swift and Post Malone, we don’t know whether there was enough positive feeling to help the lady in the song forget about the problem of the present.  She still had to live next door to the person who took her lover, and she still had the very negative feeling of living with someone whom she did not love.  But chances are the knowledge of the couple weeks of love that she had was enough to make her accept what was happening, and then move on in life.

It is a possibility that we all need. Unfortunately, there are many negatives in life, some of them by our own choosing.  Sometimes we can do something about them, but many times we cannot do anything.  It is a comforting thought that because of a past time of something truly positive, we can overcome the negative feeling of a present moment. And then move us to do something about that negative present.

PRAYER 

Good and gracious God, we run into many negative moments in our lives. Many times it is our fault; many times we could not have done anything about it.  Whatever the cause, give us the help and grace to understand how a good moment of the past can help us deal with the negative moment of the present. Be with us, we pray.

+++++

GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: We can be thankful for some past situation even though the present is not going very well.  

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. What does the song "Fortnight" teach young people?
2. What is the most important lesson from Peter’s denial of Jesus?

3. In what area do Christians most deny Jesus in their lives?

4. Do you agree with the meditation that a positive moment of the past might help a negative moment in the present?  Yes or no and why?

5. In the particular instance of the song “Fortnight,” what would the lady in the relationship have to do to improve her life?

6. In general, what is the biggest “negative” that happens to people in relationships? What can be done about it?

©2007 Capuchin Province of Mid-America
Fr. Mike Scully is a member of the Capuchin Province of Mid-America