Have you ever had the experience of doing something for somebody and only later discovering how much it meant to them? Only later discovering that it meant far more to that person than you realized at the time you did it?
We are not always aware of the good we might be doing. We don’t always appreciate how significant our actions are for others … or how much our presence means to them. In some ways, that can be a good thing, because it can prevent us from becoming too proud, or taking ourselves too seriously. In other ways, it may not be a good thing because we can fail to value something in ourselves that others value a lot. Or we may be tempted to give up doing something that people really value because we are unaware of how significant it is. We may think we are doing nothing particularly worthwhile, when in fact we may be doing something of tremendous value.
Before coming to Mass this weekend, be sure to ponder at least one key expression in Jesus’ parable in Matthew 25, 31-46: “The king will answer, ‘Whenever you did it for any of my people, no matter how unimportant they seemed, you did it for me.’” It can be difficult for us to realize that, in our ordinary dealings with each other, we are in a real sense dealing with the Lord, and that is especially true when we are confronted with others in all their brokenness and need. It is in the ordinary, everyday affairs of life that we are responding, quite literally, to the Lord. May His grace help us respond well.
