14 November 2017 - in his hands

Today's Readings (Audio)

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

We don't earn our place at the table. Doing what we are obliged to do does not put the master in our doubt. In fact, we are in his debt long before we begin to fulfill our obligations to him. We begin to serve having received mercy we can never repay. This is true and we need to reflect it in an attitude of humility. We are then able to receive every blessing with thanksgiving to the gracious giver rather than smugness about ourselves. Every blessing becomes another surprise at just how much God loves us. We stop feeling like it is the least he can do. We stop thinking that sense we've been through so much already that we deserve this. Instead, we are grateful each and every time. Our souls, finally, are in his hands and not our own.

But the souls of the just are in the hand of God, 
and no torment shall touch them.

In the final accounting, what we receive surpasses what we give and endure by unaccountable orders of magnitude.

For if before men, indeed, they be punished,
yet is their hope full of immortality;
Chastised a little, they shall be greatly blessed,
because God tried them
and found them worthy of himself.

The secret is humility. This doesn't mean beating ourselves up or tearing ourselves down. It means being a child continually surprised by the love of the Father.

Those who trust in him shall understand truth,
and the faithful shall abide with him in love:
Because grace and mercy are with his holy ones,
and his care is with his elect.