Understanding the Gospel

A while ago, my Spiritual Director asked me to read the daily Gospel, pull a line or phrase from it and journal my thoughts.  There are some days when I am not sure exactly what I should use, so I like to take a step back and ask the Lord to open my eyes to the line or words he wants me to think and pray about on that day.  It's amazing how it works!

This is what happen with today's Gospel (Luke 17:7-10), so I prayed and re-read the Gospel again and the last line jumped off the page.  "We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do."

Being obliged means we are morally committed to an action.  This made me start thinking.  At our Baptism our parents and God-parents obligated us to live a life of Christ.  And we renew that obligation each time we pray the Nicene Creed or the Apostle Creed.  We profess our recognition that Jesus is God from God.

So, the million dollar question is then - just what are we obligated to do?  As those who are claimed for Christ in our Baptism - we are obligated to live a life of Christ which is to Love God above all others and love our neighbor as ourselves.  We are to serve those around us with a loving heart, for Christ resides in all of us.  At times this can be a challenge - you might not even like the person, but that does not matter - we are to serve.

I know in today's world fulfilling an obligation is not something that necessarily is a value - but in the end, we will not be standing before the world.