The Divine Master

Imagine you are the servant in this story. You’ve worked all day in the summer heat. The sun begins to set. Your stomach growls.  A voice calls. You turn. The master of the house stands in the doorway of the hut. He is ready for his evening meal. 

When you see him in the distance, what story comes to mind? Do you recall, when you first came to this house as a nine-year-old, how you had to lift bales heavier than you had ever lifted before? Do you clench your teeth now as you trudge past this hard taskmaster into the house? You know he doesn’t care. As you knead the bread, hunger overwhelms you. Serving this master is a burden. 

When you see him standing there, what story do you remember? Do you see the face of a man who rescued you from starvation after your parents died? Do you hear the call of a poor farmer who is willing to share his food with you in exchange for help in his fields?  You trust him to love you. As you walk into the house, do you look up into his eye and give him a smile of gratitude? Serving this master is a joy. 

Same house. Same people. Different story. 

What about the Divine Master? Do we clench our teeth as we trudge past him in the doorway, thinking, “How much you owe  me!” Is it a drudgery to wait on this Lord? 

That same Master girded his loins, put on a towel, and washed his disciples’ feet. Then he gave himself up for us on the cross. This is the Story of stories that the Holy Spirit wishes to embed into our memory. Is serving this Master a joy? 

How does faith increase? When remembering that Story of stories, of Love that loved us even unto death.

Consider/Discuss 

• We are inundated with stories—stories that create division, stories that spur commitment to a cause, stories that encourage allegiance to a brand or product. Marketers know that memories form attitudes and attitudes impact behavior. What difference does it make what stories we allow to swirl around in our heads? How can we allow the Holy Spirit to recast our internal stories of resentment and hardness into God’s blessed story of belovedness? Why does it matter that we do? 
• Like the servant in the field, there is one key to the difference between a service of burden and a service of joy—how we remember the One and the ones for whom we work. A parent will get up at night for his/her week-old baby. An undocumented immigrant will work two jobs so that her ten-year old brother can have a better life than she does. A husband will wake up hour after hour in the night to make sure his wife is still breathing. We will do these things for one whom we love. As we serve others, do we approach our responsibilities as a burden or a gift? 

Living and Praying with the Word 

Good Master, I want to look up into your face with a smile of  gratitude. But sometimes your peace feels a long way off and I stare  at the ground. You know that I get weary from working in the field.  Do not allow me to become bitter from suffering but help me to tackle the tasks of life with courage. Increase my faith, my inner assurance, so that I count on your faithfulness. You who are dear to me, you have given me a home. Let me be your faithful servant.  

Holy Spirit, come, awaken that Story of stories in me once more.