Position Wanted: Inquire Upstairs

From today's gospel reading...we hear:

"Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and whoever is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much. If then you have not been faithful with the dishonest wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches?"

The pastor today spoke about this reading and its appearance of being scandalous. "Why," he asked, "would Jesus tell such a story as this?" Given that when Jesus spoke in parables, He wasn't just shooting the breeze, He had a lesson to teach; there must be a reason to this story about a group of (in the pastor's words) scoundrels. As he spoke, I reflected on something that we discussed in our Couple's Scripture Study Friday night. Our discussion was on salvation. One of the points covered was, as I thought more about it, really related to today's gospel message. There is for many Catholics (as well as many Christians, I am sure) the notion that being faithful in the *big* things is enough. So, hey, I went to Mass this week. I haven't cheated on my spouse or, you know, murdered anyone. I'm doing alright! But as our scripture study conversation wound around to it, being faithful is not a check-the-block-once-in-a-lifetime-hey-y'all-look-at-me-at-least-I-went-to-church-on-Sunday kind of a thing. It is in the little things. It is in the day-to-day. It is in the details. It is, at its core, a way of life we sign up for when we agree to follow Christ. And if we can't be faithful in those little things, in the mundane, in the acts that no one sees, what message does our faith show the world?
It is a full-time job, this disciple-being and becoming-that we've accepted and as the pastor said today, there are no part-time positions.

"Always be faithful in the little things, for it is in them that our strength lies."
Blessed Teresa of Calcutta