Tuesday of Week 32 in Ordinary Time (Year II)
Titus 2:1-8,11-14 | Psalm 36(37):3-4,18,23,27,29 | Luke 17:7-10
On the face of it, today’s Gospel reminds us to serve with dutiful humility, that we ought not to expect public acclaim or benefits when doing the Lord’s work.
However, I think there is another subtle message being conveyed here. When Jesus says, “Must he be grateful to the servant for doing what he was told?”, I strongly believe the appropriate answer is “No, but the servant should still be treated with dignity.”
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During my college days, I received a call from my aunt who happened to run a lunch café near my university. Her busboy had just quit, and she was still trying to hire a new one, so could I temp for her a couple of days? (If you’re not familiar with the term, a busboy cleans tables at an eating place.)
I was happy to, being family and all, but when I’d finished my stint, I’d also received a lesson in human dignity.
See, while I was busy clearing tables of remains, not one person looked me in the eye, or said a word of thanks. They just grabbed their food, ate as quickly as they could, perhaps chatting with their co-workers (the café was in the business district), then wiping their mouths with the provided paper napkins and walking out the door without a backward glance.
What really surprised me was how I felt about it.
I’ve been a shy person all my life, and generally shun social situations, so when I first noticed it happening, I thought “no big deal, it’s not like I’m going to chat with them anyway.”
But at the end of each shift, I felt like a worm. No customer was actively rude to me, but it was as if I wasn’t just invisible, but nonexistent.
I never shared that feeling with my aunt, and she thankfully didn’t need to tap on my services again.
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We each have our station in life, but we are also equal in the eyes of the One who made us:
there are no more distinctions between Jew and Greek, slave and free, male and female, but all of you are one in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:28)
So let us show Christian dignity to the people who serve our needs daily, from the busboys (now mostly elderly folk) who clean our lunch tables, to the cleaners of our office toilets, to the maids who ease our daily household burdens.
Bus drivers, taxi drivers, waitstaff, supermarket checkout staff…it’s almost impossible to get through a modern day without meeting at least six different people who help us through it, and while we’re not called to put them on a pedestal, neither are we to be rude to or dismissive of them. A smile and a heartfelt “thank you” go a long way for the tired and potentially abused service workers, a clear signal that they are not part of an invisible underclass.
And it really doesn’t take religion to realize this. After all, if the noted American humorist and atheist Dave Barry can figure out that:
A person who is nice to you but rude to the waiter is not a nice person. (This is very important. Pay attention. Never fails.)
we Christians really have no excuse for disrespect.
Lord, we are one as You and the Father are one. Help us remember to love each other in our daily lives, as you have loved us. Amen.