Monday after the Third Sunday after Epiphany
Posted on January 23, 2023 by under
Scripture: St. Luke 17:5-10 (NKJV)
17:5 And the apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.”
6 So the Lord said, “If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you. 7 And which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and sit down to eat’? 8 But will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare something for my supper, and gird yourself and serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink’? 9 Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I think not. 10 So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.’”
Devotion
Sinners despise these words from our Lord. The unfaithful think such humility is foolishness that doesn’t apply to them, because they refuse to see themselves as servants. Or, they use feigned humility and service to manipulate others for self-important ends. However, our Lord Jesus Christ blesses us with this example because this is how His faithful people ought to act.
Some call themselves Christians, and yet they act as though they have no need to serve in their vocations. They act as though they have no need to love others, even their enemies, as Christ has taught us to. But this is how our Savior increases the faith of His people. His Spirit creates humility and love that serves according to God’s wisdom and righteousness. The kingdom of heaven is shown to us in all that the Word of God teaches and commands, so those who love and serve humbly in their vocations are bearing witness that Christ is truly with us. Our Lord humbled Himself out of love. He chose to serve, even when He did not have to.
Satan will always encourage us to find reasons to do what is right in our own eyes. He encouraged Eve to unfaithfulness in the simple act of eating from the fruit tree. She decided it was a good idea, and she fed herself and her husband in vanity. But our Lord teaches us to be humble and obedient, to not feed ourselves in self-importance, but to love and serve according to His gracious will and example in Christ Jesus, our Savior.
Prayer: Almighty and Everlasting God, mercifully look upon our infirmities, and in all our dangers and necessities, stretch forth the right hand of Thy Majesty, to help and defend us; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
