On the one hand, today’s Gospel does not seem fair. The servant comes in after a long day of plowing or tending sheep, and is tired, hungry, and thirsty. He receives the master’s greeting, and is told to wait on him before he can eat or drink himself. Somewhat surprisingly, Jesus commends the attitude of the servant who does not expect to receive his own meal immediately. He counsels the disciples to say, “We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do.”
On the other hand, the servant is there to wait on his master, to fulfill his master’s needs before his own. It’s expected that he would make sure that the master is fed before himself, and so no offense is taken when the master tells the servant to do what was already expected of him. And, consequently, no reward ought to be expected from the servant who does such things. He is simply doing his duty.
Jesus begins this illustration by asking His listeners to put themselves in the position of the master, asking them what they would tell the servant. However, He concludes by telling them to consider themselves as servants, taking commands from their master, the Lord. This is our true relationship with God. There are other dimensions such as son-father, daughter-mother, friend-friend, beloved-lover, and so on, that are just as important, and some of these are brought forward in our other reading.
“God formed man to be imperishable; the image of his own nature he made them” (Wisd. 2:23). Our first reading reminds us that God intended us to be reflections of Himself. Ultimately, we are meant to be perfect, as our heavenly Father is, in direct imitation of the Son, Jesus Christ, who gave us an example when He walked the earth and enables us through His grace to actually live such a life. We have a spectacular dignity: God has given us everything, including Himself, and He divinizes those who follow Him.
Again, our Gospel has us focus on the servant-master dimension. Although God has given us a profound gift in being made in His image and has preserved us from everlasting death if we follow Him, we must remember we deserve none of this. The Lord could have created us in any manner, and He could have chosen not to point us toward heaven. Instead, He made us good, made us to be like Him, and keeps us in existence under His providential and attentive care at every moment of history.
With this in mind, following His commands is the least we can do, and that we are indeed “unprofitable servants” if we stop there. God created the world out of nothing, and without His providence it would recede back into nothing. With His providence, we can do all things, and we ought to live in a way that proclaims this, never taking for granted His care and never settling for obedience that forgets love.
Por un lado, el Evangelio de hoy no parece justo. El siervo llega después de un largo día de arar o cuidar ovejas y está cansado, hambriento y sediento. Recibe el saludo del maestro y se le dice que lo atienda antes de que él mismo pueda comer o beber. Sorprendentemente, Jesús elogia la actitud del siervo que no espera recibir su propia comida de inmediato. Aconseja a los discípulos que digan: “No somos más que siervos; sólo hemos hecho lo que teníamos que hacer”.
Por otro lado, el siervo está allí para servir a su amo, para satisfacer las necesidades de su amo antes que las suyas. Se espera que alimente al amo antes que a sí mismo, y por eso no se ofende cuando el amo le dice al siervo que haga lo que ya se esperaba de él. Y, en consecuencia, el siervo no debe esperar ninguna recompensa por hacer tales cosas. Simplemente está cumpliendo con su deber.
Jesús comienza esta ilustración pidiendo a sus oyentes que se pongan en la posición del amo, preguntándoles qué le dirían al siervo. Sin embargo, concluye diciéndoles que se consideren siervos, acatando los mandatos de su amo, el Señor. Esta es nuestra verdadera relación con Dios. Hay otras dimensiones, como hijo-padre, hija-madre, amigo-amigo, amado-amante, etc., que son igualmente importantes, y algunas de ellas se presentan en la otra lectura de hoy.
“Dios creó al hombre para que fuera inmortal, lo hizo a imagen y semejanza de sí mismo” (Sab 2, 23). La primera lectura nos recuerda que Dios quiso que fuéramos reflejos de sí mismo. En última instancia, estamos destinados a ser perfectos, como lo es nuestro Padre celestial, en imitación directa de Su Hijo Jesucristo, quien nos dio un ejemplo cuando caminó sobre la tierra y nos capacita a través de Su gracia para vivir tal vida. Tenemos una dignidad espectacular: Dios nos ha dado todo, incluso a sí mismo, y diviniza a los que le siguen.
Una vez más, nuestro Evangelio nos hace centrarnos en la dimensión de siervo-amo. Aunque Dios nos ha dado un profundo regalo al ser hechos a Su imagen y nos ha preservado de la muerte eterna si lo seguimos, debemos recordar que no merecemos nada de esto. El Señor podría habernos creado de cualquier manera, y podría haber escogido no encaminarnos hacia el cielo. Pero en cambio, nos hizo buenos, nos hizo semejantes a Él y nos mantiene en la existencia bajo Su cuidado providencial y atento en cada momento de la historia.
Con esto en mente, seguir Sus mandamientos es lo mínimo que podemos hacer, y de hecho somos “siervos inútiles” si allí nos quedamos. Dios creó el mundo de la nada, y sin Su providencia retrocedería a la nada. Con Su providencia, podemos hacer todas las cosas, y debemos vivir de una forma que proclame esto, nunca tomando por hecho Su cuidado y nunca conformándonos con una obediencia que se olvida del amor.
David Dashiell is a freelance author and editor in Nashville, Tennessee. He has a master’s degree in theology from Franciscan University, and is the editor of the anthology Ever Ancient, Ever New: Why Younger Generations Are Embracing Traditional Catholicism.
Feature Image Credit: Diego Zamudio, cathopic.com/photo/12615-respira
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