Pastor's Point To Ponder
Pastor’s Point to Ponder
Jesus, in his story to his apostles says, “When you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, ‘We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done!’ ” Each of us has been given a vocation, a calling, a job to do for God while on this earth. Sometimes, especially when that call gets challenging, we complain about it. Sometimes, we want payback from God for the good we have been doing to build up the kingdom. After all of my sacrifices, God better hear my prayer! After all my troubles with my wife/husband/children/grandchildren/significant other, I am entitled to an extra pearl in my crown in heaven! Yet, Jesus in today’s Gospel reading wants us to see that each of us should not be doing the good we do for payback. It’s the sign of an inauthentic faith if we do what we do, just because we want God to reward us. Jesus wants us to do the good we do because it is the right, just, or godly thing to do. That’s also what a perfect contrition is----when we ask God’s forgiveness, not out of a fear of hell or a longing for heaven, but because we are sorrowful that our actions have not corresponded to the love which God has given us and which we know we can and must share with others. A point to ponder in this 27th Week in Ordinary Time.
