7 "Which one of you having a slave plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he comes in from the field, 'Come at once and sit down to eat'? 8 Instead, will he not tell him, 'Prepare something for me to eat, get ready, and serve me while I eat and drink; later you can eat and drink' 9 Does he thank that slave because he did what was commanded? 10 In the same way, when you have done all that you were commanded, you should say, 'We are good-for-nothing slaves; we've only done our duty.'" [Luke 17:7-10]
September 11, 2001 was one of the most tragic days in the history of the United States. That morning our country came under attack by so called "religious martyrs" from the group Al- Queda. Two airplanes were flown into the World Trade Center towers, one was flown into the Pentagon and one was crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. America wept at the lose of thousands of lives. In the darkness that was that day, a ray of hope shone out. Firefighters, police, paramedics and countless other heroes stepped up to the plate and went to action. Men and women were running into the burning towers, which could fall to the ground at any moment, just to save one more life. To them the life of a stranger was worth more than their own. Many of these heroes never came back out of the building; they paid the ultimate sacrifice, their lives. For those that did the burning question in the heart of every American was “Why?” Why were these men and woman willing to risk their lives for strangers they may never see again? Do you know what the response was? “Oh, we’re not heroes… we are only doing our duty…” The commander said “Go!” and they went.
September 11, 2001 was one of the most tragic days in the history of the United States. That morning our country came under attack by so called "religious martyrs" from the group Al- Queda. Two airplanes were flown into the World Trade Center towers, one was flown into the Pentagon and one was crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. America wept at the lose of thousands of lives. In the darkness that was that day, a ray of hope shone out. Firefighters, police, paramedics and countless other heroes stepped up to the plate and went to action. Men and women were running into the burning towers, which could fall to the ground at any moment, just to save one more life. To them the life of a stranger was worth more than their own. Many of these heroes never came back out of the building; they paid the ultimate sacrifice, their lives. For those that did the burning question in the heart of every American was “Why?” Why were these men and woman willing to risk their lives for strangers they may never see again? Do you know what the response was? “Oh, we’re not heroes… we are only doing our duty…” The commander said “Go!” and they went.
We read in this passage of Luke a parable that was told by Jesus. A parable of a slave who worked in the fields and then came in and made a meal for his master. Jesus says that slave did not expect a thank you or a pat on the back; he was doing his duty. Are we expecting a pat on the back when we do good for God? I hope not. Next time you start to feel pride well up in your heart because of your service to God just remember what the 9/11 heroes said and what Jesus said in Luke 17:10, “It’s just my duty…”
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