The Word at work

Sunday, Oct. 30, 2011
31^st Sunday in Ordinary Time—A

Malachi 1:14b-2:2b, 8-10
1Thessalonians 2:7b-9, 13
Matthew 23:1-12

Today’s readings offer sound advice for all leaders. And really, that includes each and every one of us. In one way or another, each of us has someone in his or her charge – whether it’s children, siblings, employees, patients, constituents, parishioners, etc. Even friends and co-workers. Someone is looking to each of us to set the example in some regard. And each of us fails in varying degrees to set a good example 100 percent of the time. But the ideal leader in each one of us must strive to serve our brothers and sisters and recognize that we all have one Father in heaven.

The first reading and the Gospel tell us how not to do this, how we so often fail. But sprinkled liberally throughout the text of the second reading are many ideas worth taking to heart in a positive sense. They tell us that we as leaders in our daily lives must be:

n      Gentle

n      Caring

n      Affectionate

n      Self-sacrificing

n      Hard-working

n      Willing to bear another’s burdens

n      Willing to proclaim God’s Word in word and deed.

n      Grateful

n      Generous

In short, Christians of any state or position of life are to serve one another and the world under one Father in heaven. The call is the same, though it is carried out in various ways. No matter our rank, we all have but one master, the Christ, “who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave … and because of this God greatly exalted him” (Philippians 2:6-7, 9).

This is the Word of God now at work in you who believe.