1 Cor 9:16-19, 22-27 / Luke 6:39-42
There is a difference between choosing what we want to do and being told to do something.
When we choose what we want to do we exercise our freedom of choice to do what we like to do.
But when we are told to do something, it may not be what we want to do and that we may not even like to do it.
In the first reading, St. Paul says that he was given the duty to preach the gospel and he should be punished if he did not do it.
Yet, he willingly does it, and his reward is that he is able to offer the Good News freely and without insisting on any payment for it.
And in doing so, he also made himself a slave of anyone so as to win as many as he could, and that, for him, is his blessing.
St. Paul could do all that because he has fixed his eyes on Jesus Christ and in following Him, he was willing to do whatever Jesus is asking of him.
St. Paul’s vision is clear in that he is following his Master and Teacher Jesus Christ.
As for us, we have seen the ways of the world and we have also seen the way of Jesus Christ.
May we always choose to follow our Master and Teacher Jesus Christ, so that we too can lead others to follow Jesus Christ, and receive the blessings of the Good News of salvation.