First Reading: (Acts 13:13–25)
Responsorial Psalm: (Psalm 89)
“I will sing of Your steadfast love, O Lord, forever.”
Alleluia
Jesus Christ, faithful witness and firstborn from the dead, has loved us and freed us from our sins by His blood.
Gospel: (John 13:16–20)
Reflection
All you have to do is look around at work and you will see how people interact with each other with their titles on their ID cards and their behavior towards one another. Most of us hate the idea of service to others. Even at home, we can see it. But to love is to serve and to serve is to love. That is why today’s readings draw us into a powerful and humbling truth: we are servants who are being sent.
In the Gospel, Jesus speaks immediately after washing the feet of His disciples, a radical act of humility. The Master becomes the servant. And then He tells us plainly: no servant is greater than the master. This is not just a statement, it is a way of life. If Christ lowers Himself in service, then our path cannot be one of pride, status, or privilege. It must be one of humility, obedience, and love in action.
This message is especially striking in a world that constantly pushes us toward recognition, status, and visibility. Yet Christ redirects us: the true blessing is not in being seen, but in doing, in living out what we know to be right.
In the First Reading, we see this lived out through Paul. When he speaks in the synagogue, he does not impose something foreign. Instead, he meets the people where they are. He walks them through their own history, Egypt, the wilderness, the kings, and then reveals Christ as the fulfillment of everything they already believe. This is wisdom in evangelization: to understand people, to meet them in their reality, and to guide them toward truth with clarity and respect.
The same spirit is seen in the life of missionaries of old.
These missionaries endured the same, their lives reminds us that answering God’s call often comes with cost. It may require leaving behind what is comfortable. It may demand perseverance through misunderstanding, hardship, or even loneliness. But God supplies the grace needed for the mission He gives.
And this brings the message home to us.
We may not be sent to distant lands or frontier towns, but we are sent nonetheless, into our workplaces, our families, our communities. The call remains the same:
To serve rather than to dominate
To meet others where they are
To bring Christ into real, everyday situations
There is also a quiet but important truth in today’s reflection: goodness often goes unseen. The world amplifies negativity, conflict, and failure. But countless acts of service, sacrifice, and love happen daily, hidden, unnoticed, yet deeply valuable in God’s eyes.
Christ assures us: “Blessed are you if you do these things.”
So the question is not whether we know what is right. The question is whether we live it.
Today, we are invited to:
Embrace humility over recognition
Serve faithfully, even when unseen
Trust that God’s call, no matter how small it seems, is meaningful
Because in the end, to receive the one who is sent is to receive Christ Himself.
And to serve in His name is to participate in His mission.
Amen
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