Daily Catholic Lectio
Tue, 10 Nov 2026
XXXII Week in Ordinary Time
Tit 2:1-8, 11-14; Lk 17:7-10
We Are Unworthy Servants
“We are unworthy servants; we have only done what we were supposed to do.” To be able to say this is a sign of inner freedom.
Jesus has already used many images to describe the disciple: the watchful servant, the steward, the person building a tower, the king going to war. Today He gives us another image: the servant.
What does it mean to be an “unworthy servant”?
First, an unworthy servant is someone who knows that the work does not depend entirely on him. Pope Francis, while reflecting on Saint Joseph, presented him as a father who did not possess Jesus, but served a mission greater than himself – a “useless father.” A teacher who enters a classroom where the students already know the lesson may feel that his presence is no longer essential. In the same way, when we realise that God Himself is already at work, we become free from the idea that everything depends on us. An unworthy servant can say: “My work is not indispensable. God can act without me.”
Second, an unworthy servant is not attached to the fruits of his work. The Bhagavad Gita teaches: “Do your duty without expecting the fruit.” Jesus takes us even further: do not attach yourself even to the fruit itself. The moment I demand a result, recognition, or repayment, I place myself in the position of a receiver and another person in the position of a giver. Then a debt is created between us. But the servant of the Gospel is free from such debts. He does what must be done and moves on.
Third, the unworthy servant is ready for the next task. He knows his limits. He may rightly expect what is due to him, but he does not build his life around praise. He does not stop after one achievement and wait for applause. He is ready to move forward.
How can we live this image in our own life?
Very often, when we do something good, we expect not only a result but also appreciation and recognition. We begin to measure the meaning of our life through what others think of us. When we do this, we place the direction of our life in the hands of others. Discipleship means reclaiming responsibility for our own life. Even though the servant belongs to the master and carries out the master’s will, he still possesses an inner freedom. The first lesson, then, is this: my life is my responsibility. I should not hand its value over to the approval of others.
Second, life keeps placing new duties before us. Work never completely ends. Responsibilities grow. Sometimes this becomes painful. Yet pain is also a sign that life is moving. As long as we live, there will be things to carry, people to serve, problems to face, and tasks to complete. Instead of resenting every new responsibility, we can learn to accept it and move towards the next task with freedom.
Third, just as the servant must be free from the need for praise, he must also remain free from work itself. Work should not become an addiction or anxiety. “I must always be doing something” is not freedom. A person who cannot stop working may still be searching for his worth through productivity. The unworthy servant knows how to work fully and also how to step back. His identity does not depend on constant activity.
This is the inner freedom Jesus teaches today.
Do the work. Do it faithfully. Do it fully. But do not become a slave to praise, success, results, or even to the work itself. Then we can say with peace: “We are unworthy servants; we have only done what we were supposed to do.” And in that sentence there is no self-hatred. There is freedom.
Fr. Yesu Karunanidhi
Archdiocese of Madurai
A Yesni Prays Initiative
Leave a Reply