Note: On Tuesdays, you can find me at Your Daily Tripod, owned by my friend TonyD. A longer version of the post below appears there.
In today’s Gospel reading from John 17, Jesus’ prayer before his Passion begins isn’t a litany of the number of
followers he amassed or the number of people he fed, healed, or raised from the dead. He simply states that he did what the Lord asked: “I glorified you on earth by accomplishing the work you gave me to do.”
Similarly, Paul in today’s first reading from Acts 20 doesn’t ask the presbyters for guards or other earthly support for yet another trip to Jerusalem. He acknowledges he’s not sure what’s going to happen there… and then, goes on to say the goal, that of bearing witness, is what matters, not the amount of time or comfort he is granted along the way.
In this world, the temptation to blow our own horn surrounds us. After all, if we don’t tell the world about what a marvelous project manager, translator, supervisor, writer, or photographer we are, we may not get that promotion, adulation, or other recognition we feel we deserve. May we remember that the Lord isn’t looking for the most impressive resumes. He’s looking for souls who love Him… and want to bring others to the Kingdom.
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