The Mulberry Tree

Have you ever missed an appointment or failed to do something you said you would do?

The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!" The Lord replied, "If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, `Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you. "Who among you would say to your slave who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field, `Come here at once and take your place at the table'? Would you not rather say to him, `Prepare supper for me, put on your apron and serve me while I eat and drink; later you may eat and drink'? Do you thank the slave for doing what was commanded? So you also, when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, `We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done!'" - Luke 17:5-10

I missed an appointment to give blood this week.

I thought I had signed up but I didn't put it on my calendar, so I spent the time I would have been giving blood at work.  I had over committed.

There is clearly no reward in failing to do what we said we would do, even if we were busy doing something as important or more important.  

Jesus sets the bar high in today's reading.  First he tells the apostles they have too little faith and then he challenges them to think about how much they do and why they do it.

If all we do is what is expected of us, we shouldn't seek thanks or a reward or it.  We have done our jobs.

It is what is expected of us.  So, how do we stand out?  What do we need to do in order to be recognized as exceeding expectations?

That sounds strange, doesn't it?  Why are we doing these things we do?  Is it to gain notoriety?  Or do we do these things out of love?

We are all very busy with our lives.  We book and overbook, and so we make decisions.  I can do this, and I cannot do that.

But how do we choose?

Do we set aside something that benefits someone else for something that benefits us?

What does that gain us in the end?

I guess faith is putting ourselves out there for the love of others, and in doing so, great things happen.

Maybe that is what we are supposed to do, and there may be no greater reward than knowing we have done our job.

More to come...