Small Things

Paying attention to the small things and doing them with love

05/03/2018

John 14:6-14 Jesus said to Thomas, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, then you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him." Philip said to him, "Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us." Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own. The Father who dwells in me is doing his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else, believe because of the works themselves. Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these, because I am going to the Father. And whatever you ask in my name, I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything of me in my name, I will do it."

A common confusion that is running rampant today is that only big things matter. If you don’t win the Nobel Prize or a Pulitzer for your work, it wasn’t worth doing. But small things are also significant. Indeed, ninety-nine percent of our lives is comprised of a million small things done daily. Mother Teresa was famous for saying, “Do small things with great love,” and she ended up winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 for her humanitarian work with the poor.

This lesson came home to me in a personal and poignant way when we needed to build a wheelchair ramp for the church in Winslow. I asked a friend who’s a general contractor for a quote to build the ramp. I said sheepishly: “I know you have huge projects, and this is probably too small for you.” He replied: “If you take care of the small things, the big things will take care of themselves.” I will never forget his reply, and it has inspired me to “take of the small things” in my own life as a priest. Small things are also significant.

May 3 is the double feast of two “small saints,” Philip and James, who barely twinkle like small stars next to the supernovas like St. Peter and St. John. They don’t even get their own feast day but have to share the same day. Philip is mentioned twice in the gospel of John, but both times his comments are less than stellar. James is called “the lesser” to distinguish him from James “the Greater.” The only certain fact about James the lesser is he was the son of Alpheus. James the Greater, on the other hand, was brother of John, both known as the sons of Thunder, and later Bishop of Jerusalem, and played a pivotal role in the Council of Jerusalem in Acts 15. The reason these two lesser apostles are honored together is because their relics were transferred to the Basilica of the Holy Apostles in Rome in early May. They don’t even get their own church! But precisely their obscurity and lack of stardom serves as a great lesson for all Christians: very few saints are recognized as the rockstars of the spiritual life. Most of us will be like Philip and James, and my general contractor friend, taking care of the small things. The big things will take care of themselves.

Taking care of small things, doing small things with great love as Mother Teresa would put it, can have surprising, even salvific, effects in our lives. For instance, in conversations with other people pay close attention to their small comments, off-handed observations, or small gestures. Usually people are trying to tell us something in subtle ways but we miss those clues because we are not attentive to the small things. I’ve learned the hard way that when a bishop “suggests” I do something, he’s not “suggesting” it at all. That goes for your spouse’s suggestions, too. Some people tell me they are waiting to win the lottery to they can make a contribution to the church. I “suggest” that instead of buying lottery tickets, they put that money in the collection plate. Take care of the small things and let the lottery take care of itself.

Losing weight and become more healthy is not a matter of dramatic diets and running marathons, but paying attention to the small snacks we munch on all day. Do small things with great love for your body, the Temple of the Holy Spirit. Marriages often struggle not because of one big blunder (although that happens, too), but because of a million missed opportunities to show love and affection in small ways, holding hands, doing the laundry, washing the dishes, entertaining the in-laws, visiting elderly parents, etc. A vibrant prayer life does not require making a pilgrimage to a far-away land, but only making a pilgrimage to your bedroom, and sitting quietly with the Lord.

Be careful not to judge your Christianity by the rewards and recognitions you receive, like a Nobel Peace Prize. But pay attention to the details and the small things, and do them with great love. It is said the devil is in the details. But so is God.

Praised be Jesus Christ!