"Increase our faith, Lord" (Luke 17)

Many of us do only the bare minimum necessary to get by. We do this in our work, and with our families.  In my career I managed and led others for years and I must admit I found it very frustrating that some did only the minimum and then thought they were owed some special reward, bonus, or thanks for what they had done.  For a very long time I didn't leave tips for meals that were served to me in restaurants unless the service was extraordinary.  I felt the servers were only doing what they were paid to do (When I found out that many restaurant owners were paying less than a fair minimum wage to the waitstaff and cooks, I changed my practice). Upon self-reflection, I’m no exception to this ideal at home, either.  I sometimes feel like I should get a pat on the back or a favorite meal or dessert because I did ordinary, expected chores like washing the dishes or doing the laundry without having to be asked.  And, sadly, many of us do only the bare minimum in our faith, if we do anything at all. 

In the gospel (Luke 17:7-10), Christ warns us that we can fall into the same trap with God and the reality is we are required to give all we can to God and ask for nothing in return. The fact is God owes us nothing for what we do for Him.

When we have done everything the Lord has asked and we have given all that we have to give, our human reaction is almost always, "See how well I have done."  It’s a natural thing; but Jesus warns us not to be natural.  Much of Christianity is a call to remove oneself from one's natural inclination and to give oneself up to divine inspiration.

Giving the bare minimum to God is not acceptable.  Everything we are and have is due to His divine work and we are obliged to give our all, in return.  Yes, we truly are unprofitable servants, but what great rewards await us for our complete surrender and obedience to Him.

When we do the Lord's work, we do it with the Lord's strength.  St. Thomas Aquinas pointed out that the only thing a human being can do to separate from God is reject Him.  Other than that, all the works we do are done in tandem.  And the One who bears the greater part of the burden of our work is God Himself.

What is there to boast of if we have cleaned our rooms by making the bed, but it is God who picked up the toys, threw away the trash, dusted the furniture, swept the floors, washed and painted the walls and rearranged the furniture?  That is what Jesus is telling us.  If we do everything that we can, we still have done remarkably little and only what is expected, and we should not expect that a shower of gold will fall from Heaven as a reward.  Jesus tells us to regard ourselves as humble and obedient servants.

But God regards us as children who are demonstrating their love in the small ways that a child can. God sees these actions of the servant and laughs with delight at the child who has learned how to wash his hands without throwing the towel on the floor.  God knows our weaknesses and does not ask from us anything that we cannot give.  True, we are servants of the Lord, but we are servants who are also well-loved children.  While we are not promised and should not expect any extraordinary reward, we nevertheless receive one every time we receive Him in the Holy Eucharist; a taste of heaven here on Earth, a moment of recognition by Jesus amid the waste of the world.