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Workers in the Lord’s service

Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time (A), Proverbs 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31

The Book of Proverbs is one of the wisdom books of the Old Testament. It is a collection of maxims or aphorisms whose purpose is to provide guidance for successful living for the reader. Proverbs teaches how to appreciate life and how to live it to the fullest.

In its first chapter, Proverbs is attributed to King Solomon, the biblical wise man par excellence. However, the book seems to be a collection of material that comes from various places and various times. Scholars think that the final gathering of this mass of material into one book took place after the Israelites’ return from exile, sometime early in the fifth century B.C.

This Sunday’s reading from Proverbs is from the last chapter of the book. It is a passage describing the ideal wife. In the full Hebrew text, this section is an acrostic poem. That is, each verse begins with a different letter of the alphabet, starting at the beginning of the alphabet at the first verse and continuing with successive letters until the last letter and the end of the poem, twenty-two lines later. This is not an unusual form for Old Testament poetry, but the subject matter of poems written in this form often seems to be more determined by the alphabet than by the inherent thought structure of what is being said.

Our reading begins with a general statement about the value and excellence of "a worthy wife." She is the source of unending goodness and prosperity for the household. She is industrious, working hard to provide for the needs of her family. But she also extends herself for the poor. The passage ends with enthusiastic praise for this virtuous woman. It is not her beauty that is important but her religious spirit. She deserves public recognition for what she does.

The ideal wife in ancient Israel was, therefore, industrious, charitable, prayerful. Her work was more than caring for the needs of her family. It was also the expression of her inner life, of her dedication to the Lord and the Lord’s poor. She was a good wife because she was a holy wife.

This Sunday’s Gospel reading (Matthew 25:14-30) talks about the need for God’s servants to work, while the reading from Proverbs describes more extensively what virtuous work involves. This is a relationship between first and third readings that we have seen before. For example, last week the Gospel mentioned wisdom almost in passing and the first reading described it in greater detail. On the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Jesus spoke in general terms of love for neighbor, and the reading from Exodus offered specifics about the practice of caring for our neighbor.

Work is part of our service of the Lord. That’s the lesson of both Gospel and Old Testament reading on this Sunday. The servants in the gospel who worked with their master’s money are praised. The one who does not work is condemned. The ideal wife is one who works both for the well-being of her own family and for the good of the poor. She is to be praised because she fears the Lord.

Work is a necessary condition for our relationship with the Lord. We have to work if we are to be saved. It is not that our work earns us salvation or that God only loves us if we work hard at the responsibilities that we have received. It is rather that our work is an important aspect of our response to God’s loving initiative in our regard. God approaches us with His offer of grace and salvation. We have to accept. One of the most important elements of our acceptance is our willingness to join our efforts to God’s in caring for ourselves, for our loved ones, for the poor. Our willingness to work out the potential of God’s gifts to us is a sign of our awareness of His generosity to us.

What this Sunday’s overture reading says about the ideal wife applies to all God’s servants. They are diligent about caring for their loved ones in the context of the home. They are generous about caring for the poor. It is important that they — we — be hard workers in the Lord’s service. But even more important is that we be holy workers in the Lord’s service. As followers of the Lord, our work is not supposed to be merely an economic exercise but also an exercise of our response to the Lord’s love for us. We do not work just to earn a living, but to acknowledge the life that God has already given us.

For reflection and discussion

How is my relationship with God reflected in my work?

How do others benefit from my work?



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	*Overtures* Reflection on the first readings of the Sunday liturgy By Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk Workers in the Lord’s service Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time (A), Proverbs 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31 The Book of Proverbs is one of the wisdom books of the Old Testament. It is a collection of maxims or aphorisms whose purpose is to provide guidance for successful living for the reader. Proverbs teaches how to appreciate life and how to live it to the fullest. In its first chapter, Proverbs is attributed to King Solomon, the biblical wise man par excellence. However, the book seems to be a collection of material that comes from various places and various times. Scholars think that the final gathering of this mass of material into one book took place after the Israelites’ return from exile, sometime early in the fifth century B.C. This Sunday’s reading from Proverbs is from the last chapter of the book. It is a passage describing the ideal wife. In the full Hebrew text, this section is an acrostic poem. That is, each verse begins with a different letter of the alphabet, starting at the beginning of the alphabet at the first verse and continuing with successive letters until the last letter and the end of the poem, twenty-two lines later. This is not an unusual form for Old Testament poetry, but the subject matter of poems written in this form often seems to be more determined by the alphabet than by the inherent thought structure of what is being said. Our reading begins with a general statement about the value and excellence of "a worthy wife." She is the source of unending goodness and prosperity for the household. She is industrious, working hard to provide for the needs of her family. But she also extends herself for the poor. The passage ends with enthusiastic praise for this virtuous woman. It is not her beauty that is important but her religious spirit. She deserves public recognition for what she does. The ideal wife in ancient Israel was, therefore, industrious, charitable, prayerful. Her work was more than caring for the needs of her family. It was also the expression of her inner life, of her dedication to the Lord and the Lord’s poor. She was a good wife because she was a holy wife. This Sunday’s Gospel reading (Matthew 25:14-30) talks about the need for God’s servants to work, while the reading from Proverbs describes more extensively what virtuous work involves. This is a relationship between first and third readings that we have seen before. For example, last week the Gospel mentioned wisdom almost in passing and the first reading described it in greater detail. On the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Jesus spoke in general terms of love for neighbor, and the reading from Exodus offered specifics about the practice of caring for our neighbor. Work is part of our service of the Lord. That’s the lesson of both Gospel and Old Testament reading on this Sunday. The servants in the gospel who worked with their master’s money are praised. The one who does not work is condemned. The ideal wife is one who works both for the well-being of her own family and for the good of the poor. She is to be praised because she fears the Lord. Work is a necessary condition for our relationship with the Lord. We have to work if we are to be saved. It is not that our work earns us salvation or that God only loves us if we work hard at the responsibilities that we have received. It is rather that our work is an important aspect of our response to God’s loving initiative in our regard. God approaches us with His offer of grace and salvation. We have to accept. One of the most important elements of our acceptance is our willingness to join our efforts to God’s in caring for ourselves, for our loved ones, for the poor. Our willingness to work out the potential of God’s gifts to us is a sign of our awareness of His generosity to us. What this Sunday’s overture reading says about the ideal wife applies to all God’s servants. They are diligent about caring for their loved ones in the context of the home. They are generous about caring for the poor. It is important that they — we — be hard workers in the Lord’s service. But even more important is that we be holy workers in the Lord’s service. As followers of the Lord, our work is not supposed to be merely an economic exercise but also an exercise of our response to the Lord’s love for us. We do not work just to earn a living, but to acknowledge the life that God has already given us. For reflection and discussion** How is my relationship with God reflected in my work? How do others benefit from my work?

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