Daily Bible: Reject Godless Ways and Worldly Desires

In today’s first reading from Titus 2:1-14, we hear Saint Paul continue his exhortation to Titus to encourage upright moral behavior in members of the Church. Earlier in this letter Saint Paul talked about bishops. As he continues, he encourages all of the faithful to avoid sin and to grow in virtue. With modernism and moral relativism gripping the Church and the culture, faithful Catholics need to take Saint Paul’s words to heart. What can you do to embrace God’s goodness more completely?

I love how Psalm 37:3-4,18-29 connects moral righteousness with the goodness of God. “Trust in the Lord and do good.” Indeed, following God’s moral law is an act of trust. It means to trust that God’s Law leads us to true goodness.

Jesus’ words from today’s Gospel in Luke 17:7-10 seem a bit out of character. When Jesus asks, “Which of you would say to your servant returning from the field, come here and take your place at the table”? I would think a disciple of Jesus might say, “I would!” That may be true, since Jesus gives us a greater awareness of the dignity of others, and moves us to charity. But Jesus’ audience wasn’t there yet. So their response would be, “No, of course not.” Jesus is not confirming them in their superiority over others. Rather, He using the cultural attitude toward servants to make a point about how a disciple should relate to God. None of us can assume that we are the best in the Kingdom or that we have “earned” our way to Heaven because of the work we do. Even the most popular living saints can only say to God, “We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do” because all of our abilities and all the good that we do come from God in the first place. What is Jesus teaching here? Humility.