12-11-24 ejujuran Tanpa Syarat: Melakukan Kebaikan Sebagai Tugas Kita

Tuesday 32nd week in ordinary time "Lk 17:7-10" "Will any one of you, who has a servant ploughing or keeping sheep, say to him when he has come in from the field, 'Come at once and sit down at table? Will he not rather say to him, 'Prepare supper for me, and gird yourself and serve me, till I eat and drink; and afterward you shall eat and drink? Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? So you also, when you have done all that is commanded you, say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty'." Four young men needed batteries and a cable for their speakers. They went to the store and found what they were looking for, but there wasn't anyone there – no employees, no cashier. After waiting for a while they realised that no one was coming out to help them, so they left the money for their purchase on the counter and left. What happened, it turns out, was that the store was actually closed; the lock on the door had malfunctioned. This incident was recorded by a security camera and broadcast on national news. When the youths were interviewed on TV and asked about it, they said that they 'had just done the right thing'. It's surprising that 'honesty' can be a piece of news! Doing the right thing is our duty. We don't expect something in exchange for every good action that we do, as if we were 'negotiating' with God: I will only do something if God rewards me. We are not God's employees. We are His children. Imagine asking your mum: 'what will you give me if I make my bed?' She could just remind you that it is not 'your' bed, actually: 'I've given you the bed', she could say, 'the linen, the pyjamas, the room and the house; the food you eat, the clothes you wear...and the life you live'. Our mothers deserve our obedience. It's the same with every good action: When you do good, when you help others, you've only done your duty. When you resist temptations to sin, forgive those who offend you, when you are faithful, kind, and compassionate, when you keep all the commandments from one to ten, in all their depth and breadth... you've only done your duty; for Our Father God deserves as much from His Children. Mary, my Mother, help me always to do the right thing just because God deserves it.