Seen through the lens of modern sensibilities today’s gospel is at best uncomfortable. In a world all too aware of the damage caused by unethical business practices it raises challenging questions.
That can make it tempting to turn away from it or dismiss it as irrelevant. We are called to dig deeper than that. We are called to go beyond our initial discomfort, or even to use that discomfort, to help us find something of value in the text.
Today I am focusing on these words:
“You have proved yourself faithful in a very small thing…”
It seems a very small glimmer of light in a very challenging gospel. Yet, it reminds me of the importance of small things that we might undervalue or overlook. As we look around the world today there are so many big problems, big issues, big situations that need resolving, renewing or remaking.
We hear a narrative that tells us everything is broken, and that it’s all too big for us to fix. we stop to even look for things that we might do to help the situation. We get it into our heads that big problems need big solutions, and that small actions that we might take will have no effect.
It seems to me that’s today’s gospel suggests a different way. It suggests small acts of faithfulness can make more of a difference than we might think. Far from being pointless or useless our small acts of faithfulness can bring hope and help make these hard times more bearable for us all.
What small act of faithfulness are you being called to today?