Ephesians 6:1-9; Psalm 144(145):10-14; Luke 13:22-30
Paul again today is transmitting sound advice to the Ephesians on how to manage daily life. Parents have a lesson on raising children: Children in their turn on how to respect their parents. This relationship lasts though life: as parents age they can become hard work - but we still respect them. As a society we can be bad at this, and it is certainly true that it is not uncommon to live a long way from parents, and respecting them with their practical care needs can become impersonal. We sub-contract this to care homes or visiting care workers - and resent the cost. We should move to as close as we can to the ideal, of personal care and respect for our elderly relatives.
Meanwhile, many are managers of other's work, and almost all of us are employed or led by others. The relationship Paul describes between master and slave is entirely relevant to most people of working age. St Benedict, in his rule designed for monastic communities, expands on the same principles and is well worth studying by anyone who is in a leadership role in our modern world. Happy, respected teams are built by leaders who "do without threats, remembering that they and you have the same Master in heaven and he is not impressed by one person more than by another."