First Reading • Habakkuk 1:2-3; 2:2-4
Psalm • Psalm 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9
Second Reading • 2 Timothy 1:6-8, 13-14
Gospel • Luke 17:5-10
Chances are, the happiest people we know are the volunteers we meet in parish halls, schools, and hospitals. They greet us with a smile, a warm hug, and a cheerful spirit that seems to brighten our day no matter how we are feeling.
What’s their secret? Most likely, it is this: they find joy in serving others. They are not looking for thanks or recognition. In fact, praise might even embarrass them.
What truly makes them happy is simply being of service, bringing a little light to someone else’s day. That joy is thanks enough for them.
This is exactly the kind of joy Jesus invites us to discover in today’s Gospel. He describes a good servant; one who knows that serving the master is simply what is expected.
The servant does not need applause for bringing supper or cleaning a room. His peace comes from knowing he is faithful to his duty and to his master.
Of course, all of us like to be recognized for our efforts, and gratitude is important.
But if praise becomes the main reason we serve, our joy will fade quickly. When recognition is lacking, when we are overlooked, we will grow resentful. We may even stop serving altogether.
And then, instead of doing what is truly needed, we will choose only “high-profile” tasks; the ones that bring us attention. Quiet, behind-the-scenes work will no longer appeal to us.
But when we forget ourselves in service, something beautiful happens. By tending to another’s burdens, we often find our own lifted. By carrying another’s cross, we discover strength and joy.
True joy comes not from recognition, but from love freely given.
And this joy is at the very heart of Jesus. Though He was the beloved Son of God in heaven, He embraced His Father’s will and came down to earth.
He spent thirty years in obscurity as a carpenter in Nazareth.
And when He did step forward to preach, He endured criticism and persecution.
Yet He never stopped serving, never stopped loving, because His aim was not human praise but His Father’s glory. That is why He endured even the Cross.
This is what God asks of us too: to serve for the joy of doing His will. Faith makes this possible.
When we trust in God’s goodness and presence, nothing can stop us. Criticism, problems, or worries do not shake us, because we know God walks with us. That assurance is all the thanks we need.
God owes us nothing. Everything we are and have is His gift. Our life, our talents, our very breath come from Him.
How could we demand recognition from the One who gave us everything in the first place?
Instead, it is we who must be grateful.
Here at the Eucharist; the great act of thanksgiving; we unite our humble efforts with the perfect sacrifice of Christ.
We bring our joys and sorrows to the altar, and in return we are nourished with His Body and Blood.
Strengthened in this way, we are sent forth to serve without counting the cost, until one day we share fully in the banquet of joy that Christ has prepared for His faithful servants.
