The 121st World Series is now in the books, and congratulations go to the LA Dodgers. What baseball fans will talk about in years to come are the dramatic home runs that were hit at seemingly the most crucial moments of each game. This is probably part and parcel of the “swing for the fences” culture in which we live, and the “go big or go home” swagger that many of our sports stars exude.
But let’s say your heroes in the world are not sports stars, but ordinary people. How about someone as ordinary as Mother Teresa? Was she known for swinging for the fences? On the contrary, some of her most memorable quotes are: “In this life we cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love,” and “If you can’t feed a hundred people, then feed just one,” or, “God doesn’t require us to succeed, he only requires that we try,” and “I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.”
It does not take much imagination to think that the line in today’s Gospel, The person who is trustworthy in very small matters is also trustworthy in great ones; and the person who is dishonest in very small matters is also dishonest in great ones, was one Mother Teresa read often. It became part of her very essence and being. Attention to the small things, not swinging for the fences, is what is important.
How we go about our daily affairs defines our true relationship with Jesus. Are we the type who does the right thing only when we know others may be watching us? Are we the ones whose charity is measured by whether our names appear on the honor roll of donors? Or, conversely, no matter how big or how small the matter, do we do what Christ calls us to do, to love one another without measuring the cost?
So, as we go about our all too busy and messy lives, and when we feel we are not accomplishing greatness, let’s think about Mother Teresa and the importance she placed on home runs.
Demonstrating our faith in even the smallest of tasks is what pleases God the most, as it shows our true colors – not how we act when others are watching, but how we act because we know God is always watching. In these small acts of kindness, we show that God truly is in our heart and soul and that we, with purpose, choose to honor Christ in all our endeavors, no matter how small or seemingly trivial.
Steve Scholer
I came to Creighton to attend law school in 1976 and following 5 years of private practice I started what I thought would be a 4 year job to help Fr. James Hoff, S.J. raise funds for the Campaign for Creighton. Little did I know that the many wonderful people I would soon meet, both here on campus and across the entire country, over the next few years would lead me to stay and continue to support the mission of this University. My wife is a Creighton graduate and our son, Frank, is a Xavier undergraduate and Creighton law graduate. Our daughter, Paige, has both her undergraduate and master’s degree from Creighton.
I do not participate in social media websites so posting my personal interpretation about what the readings mean to me is a novel experience for me. However, being required to put pen to paper forced me to become more reflective about what God is really trying to say to me and this has helped me in my daily prayer life - to slow down and let the Word of God dwell within me instead of racing through the daily devotions.
