Daily Reflection
September 5, 2026

A couple of years ago, I visited an elderly parishioner who lived alone.

As we talked, she showed me a small wooden box filled with letters, photographs, medals, and other keepsakes.

I expected her to tell me more about the achievements those things represented.

I expected her to tell me about all the milestones she was proud of, and about her fulfilled dreams. Instead, she looked through the box, and then held up a faded note.

She had a smile on her face, then she said, “A former student of mine wrote this forty years ago. I was having a difficult week, and he wanted to cheer me up.”

When she unfolded the note it simply said, “Thank you for believing in me.”

As someone who loves receiving letters, I thought it was one of the most wonderful things in the box. What a gift to have received something like that. With very few words, she was told that she mattered.

Then as she placed the note carefully back in her wooden box, she said something else that I have never forgotten. She said, “I’m grateful for the people God let me love, and when you get older, you will realize that what remains is the love we received and the love we gave away… that is what really matters.”

Her words have stayed with me ever since, but they rise to the surface every now and then, especially when I read scripture passages like today’s.

In 1 Corinthians 4:7, Paul gently, but firmly asks, “What do you possess that you did not receive?”

My first instinct would be to start listing all my academic and professional achievements. Afterall, I can attest that I worked hard for those; I did not just receive them. I would begin thinking about all the work I put into those things and claim them as being by my effort. Yes, effort matters, and responsibility matters, but underneath it all is the reality that we are recipients before we are achievers, and my achievements were not by my hands alone.

The question Paul asks is quite confronting, because it exposes how easily I take credit for things that were, in many ways, gifts all along. Paul reminded the Corinthians, who were tempted into comparison, that everything they have is received, and there is no room for pride when our gifts, opportunities, and even our growth comes from God.

The Gospel offers a similar lesson. The Pharisees focused on rules while missing the heart of God’s purpose. Jesus responded by redirecting their attention to something deeper…. human need and mercy. The sabbath was meant to be a gift, not a burden and not oppression.

Together, these passages invite us to let go of measuring ourselves by achievements, appearances, or checking the right boxes. In essence, what really matters is whether we received God’s gifts with gratitude and shared them generously, whether we loved the people entrusted to us, whether we allowed ourselves to be loved, whether we showed mercy instead of judgment, and whether we remained faithful in the ordinary moments that made up most of our days.

Most of us would not be remembered for being the most impressive person in the room, or being the one who accumulated the most recognition.

But, most people will be remembered because they were kind, because they listened, because they forgave, and because they reflected God’s love.

That is the life Paul lived. That is the life Jesus calls us to live as well.

Lord Jesus, consistently draw our attention to what matters most. Amen.