Love and serve without cost or judgment

As we move towards our holiday celebrations of Thanksgiving and Christmas, Jesus gives us an example of what He means by service.  He speaks of the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind (Luke 14:12-14).  These are the people that Jesus sought out during His travels in Galilee and Judea.  He constantly sought to be of service to them and to teach them by His words and His example.  Even when Jesus spent time with leading citizens like the Pharisee on this occasion, He didn’t go to relax and enjoy Himself, but rather to teach them that they too should follow His example and find ways to serve others.

And that’s what Jesus is still asking of you and me today, in the 21^st century, as we read once again the story of Jesus’ visit to the home of the Pharisee.  He asks that we look for people who could use our help.  He asks us to find ways to help them without seeking anything in return.  He asks us to follow His example and to learn from Him.  And as Jesus tells us, the reward for our service will come not from those we serve and help, but from God who will repay us with that heavenly reward to which all of us aspire. 

Perhaps if we learn to serve others after the example of Jesus, we will also learn to better understand what Saint Paul means in his letter to the Romans when he writes of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God, and of the inscrutability of His judgments and the unsearchableness of His ways (Romans 11:29-36).  As St. Paul so aptly states in his letter: “To God be glory forever!”