Overview:

The Memorial of St. Martin of Tours, Bishop

A Reflection for the Memorial of St. Martin of Tours, Bishop

Jesus said to the Apostles:
“Who among you would say to your servant
who has just come in from plowing 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’? (Lk 17:7-8).

Find today’s readings here.

I was talking to my sister recently about how we find cleaning our own homes to be so much harder than helping out around someone’s house. In my own apartment, a full sink fills me with dread, and a pile of unfolded laundry will likely live on the couch for a couple of days. 

But when I’m at my sister’s or a friend’s place, those same chores feel like nothing at all. I enjoy doing the dishes and wiping down the counters while they tackle bathtime with their kids, knowing that, even if they don’t notice, I’ve taken one small thing off the exhausted parents’ to-do list. The least I can do!

This hardly makes me a saint. But the fact is that who I’m doing something for can completely change my experience of an act as mundane as doing the dishes; and I think that says something about Christian discipleship—the subject of today’s Gospel from Luke.

The parable can feel off-putting if you imagine yourself in the shoes of the master. “Is he grateful to that servant because he did what was commanded?,” Jesus asks. It seems a good Christian master would break bread with his servant and thank him for his hard work. 

But we are not the masters in this scenario but rather the servants. And the message is not that we should be servile when it comes to our relationship with our Lord, but that we should know our place and that knowledge should encourage humility. A servant in Jesus’ time would not expect lavish praise for doing their job. And simply following the Lord’s commands should be reward enough for the disciple. 

That can seem like a dreary road if we see Jesus’ command like I see doing my own dishes. But discipleship should not feel like a chore. My love for my sister and friends and assurance of their love for me make tedious and even difficult acts on their behalf feel like no burden at all. How much more then, should we delight in serving the God who created us and loves us beyond measure? I’m certainly still working on that, but as today’s Gospel tells us, it’s the least we can do.

Ashley McKinless is an executive editor at America and co-host of the ‘Jesuitical’ podcast.