An Honor To Serve God

𝐍𝐎𝐕. 𝟏𝟏, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓: 𝐌𝐄𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐀𝐋 𝐎𝐅 𝐒𝐓. 𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐈𝐍 𝐨𝐟 𝐓𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐒, 𝐁𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐩

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈: 𝐖𝐢𝐬 𝟐:𝟐𝟑-𝟑:𝟗

𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦: 𝐏𝐬𝐚 𝟑𝟒:𝟐-𝟑, 𝟏𝟔-𝟏𝟗 “𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬.”

𝐆𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐋: 𝐋𝐊 𝟏𝟕:𝟕-𝟏𝟎

𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞: “𝐖𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬; 𝐰𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐝𝐮𝐭𝐲.” (𝐯.𝟏𝟎) 

           In the United States, the Americans have an admirable habit of addressing military veterans they meet especially in public or private gatherings, they say: “Thank you for your service.”

           But it isn’t the same when we are serving God. Because we don’t expect God to say thank you for our service since the one whom we are serving is the one who Created all things in the heaven and on earth. The difference is the American soldier offered his life to serve his nation, and we as the created ones has nothing to offer except the work of our hands to serve Him who offered his life to pay for our sins.

           As such, we are the ones who are obliged to say: “Thank you Lord for offering your life for us.”

          Short this passage may be, but it speaks so much about the kind of service we are to render not only for others but for God as well. But what Jesus was saying in this parable contradicts not only a common practice in today’s contemporary setting as it runs counter to what has become a tradition in the workplace.

         The Holiday Season is just around the corner, and we can now feel the cool and soothing breeze brushing our cheeks. And in the corporate world, this season is highly anticipated because this is the time when mandated year-end benefits and bonuses are apportioned to the rank and file. The mood, however, is dampened by the recent calamity that inundated large parts of the Visayas particularly Tacloban City and in times like these how we respond will define our Christian identity.

         To give out bonuses based on performance is not unusual and there are many companies, especially the ones that monopolize certain industries are known to hand out fat bonuses just to keep their top executives from looking elsewhere.

         In other words, expecting rewards for a job well done has become a practice not only in the corporate world but even in the most ordinary setting as supermarkets where tips are given to salaried bagmen, waiters, taxi-drivers, hotel doormen, bellboys, utility boys, or even in farmlands where farmhands are rewarded for a good harvest. You name it, just about everybody nowadays are and are expecting a reward for work they have put in.

         But Jesus in this parable is telling us that to perform our tasks in obedience to what we are supposed to do is our duty and that we haven’t done anything yet. Which is why there are some cultures where people are very particular to time. If they say their work is an eight-hour shift, expect them to pack up after faithfully giving out an eight-hour workload.

         This is why Filipino workers for some reason are preferred especially overseas because they stand out as Filipinos are known to be industrious and diligent as they also work even beyond the required eight-hour shift sans the extra pay.

         And as dutiful servants we cannot obligate God to reward us for work we do in pursuit of our profession. Translated into our lives in the Church and or in the Community if ever we are involved in serving in a ministry or apostolate it means serving in relation to the gifts that we have received is our duty and that we should not think that God owes us. This is why we must practice our calling to serve in the Church relative to the gift we have received if it inconveniences us.

         To serve God by serving others in the Church and or Community is our response in praise and worship to him who ransomed us from our slavery to sin. Just as God came not be served but to serve (𝐌𝐤 𝟏𝟎:𝟒𝟓) so we too must toil in his vineyard because it is not only a privilege for those who are called but a sacred duty as well.

         And in everything that we do as professionals and or in Church ministry, we must not forget that it is God whom we serve because it is God himself who calls each one of us to our vocation and God gives everyone the graces necessary to our calling.

         As our vocation comes from God, in the end it is God whom we serve especially when it is done out of love flowing from our hearts. At some point in time, we leave our god to serve God which happens when we turn away from things that we idolize in our lives to serve him by serving others.

         But lest it not be said, our work also obtains for us both a temporal and an eternal recompense because the kind of work that we put in as a response to our calling or station in life is a symbol of divine worship. The temporal reward is contentment and earthly happiness, but the eternal recompense still awaits us when we are finally invited to the feast.

         If you will notice, most of the readings for the past several days now are eschatological in nature. Where before I wondered why these readings are arranged this way. Now I realize that these readings are meant to remind us of the need to reorient our priorities in life and hew it closely to our calling.

         In this parable, Jesus reminds us that we should not expect an extra credit for serving God through others because obedience to our calling should not be treated as something extra out of what we do but it is our duty.

         Nor is he suggesting that our service is meaningless because God is pleased at anything that we do that is done for the glory of God as 𝐒𝐭. 𝐏𝐚𝐮𝐥 reminds us in 1 𝑪𝒐𝒓 10:31 “𝑺𝒐 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝒐𝒓 𝒅𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒐𝒓 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒅𝒐, 𝒅𝒐 𝒊𝒕 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒍𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝑮𝒐𝒅.”

         What should remain etched in our minds and hearts is the fact that God doesn’t owe us anything and we have no claim in him, but his love should compel us to give him the best that we can give. In fact, to serve others is a distinguishing mark of a Christian wherever he may be. If you want to live for God, you must be ready to say and do what may seem strange to the world you live in.

        To truly serve God, you must know how to give when others take, to love when others hate, to help where others have been exploited. The true quality of a Christian is when you can give up your own rights to serve others and when you can do this, hope that one day you will receive everything that God has promised.

         Furthermore, to serve others is the best way to become like Christ. There are people who work their way towards the Kingdom of God by trying to keep the Mosaic laws, the doctrines of the Catholic faith, by trying to look good and holy in public or by doing good deeds.

         And most of the time, people who live this way end up being frustrated. What you can do is just let the Holy Spirit help in turning your mind away from your performance and redirect it towards Jesus. In this way you will succeed in serving him out of love and gratitude. This is what living in the Spirit is all about.

         Paul also tells us in 1 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒔 5:17 “𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚.” As pilgrims who are in a journey, we must accustom ourselves in uttering ejaculatory prayers in everything that we do and we can do well by adopting as our personal theme “𝑶𝒓𝒂 𝒆𝒕 𝑳𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒓𝒂” which means work and pray and while putting our hands to work, we need to raise our hearts to God in prayer. This is what makes our work pleasing to God by the love we express out of the work of our hands. (𝘌𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘺 - 𝘕𝘰𝘷. 11, 2025)