Most of us won’t work miracles, but that doesn’t mean we can’t change the world. Today’s reflection by Rachel Esser considers our vocation to love, and the big impact even the smallest acts of kindness can have on those around us.

September 21, 2025: Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
Amos 8:4–7
Psalm 113:1–2, 4–8
1 Timothy 2:1–8
Luke 16:1–13

It’s the Little Things

A reflection by Rachel Esser

As St. Paul says in our second reading today: “I ask that supplications, prayers, petitions, and thanksgivings be offered for everyone!”

Today’s readings feature one of Jesus’s parables, that of the dishonest steward. While it seems to spotlight manipulation as prudence, there is still truth to be gleaned about how to act justly. Taken as a whole, the readings for today center on care for the poor, how God loves them and how we must also. A favorite quote of mine–attributed to St. Teresa of Avila–states, “Christ has no body but yours. No hands, no feet on earth but yours.” As stewards of the earth, it is our duty to treat all with the love God created us with.

Acting with love and justice is by no means a small task. God has infinite, perfect love to offer. We do not. God can see our sins and still love us. We can outright reject God, and God will still love us. I don’t know about you, but I don’t quite have that ability. Life is often chaotic and hard. We are constantly surrounded by pain and suffering, pulled in a million directions. The loving choice is often not the easiest. The steward in the gospel opted to brace himself for future hardship by building up dishonest wealth rather than take a lowly job or beg. It is easy to lose God in the chaos of life, and for the call to love to be overshadowed.

However, God gives each of us new opportunities to love one another every day. Helping someone find an item in the grocery store, giving someone a hug when they’ve had a long day, and making someone dinner are all acts of love. Our gospel acclamation today states that “Though our Lord Jesus Christ was rich, he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich.” Jesus joined us on Earth so that we could learn from and know God’s love more directly. It is through this sharing of love that the Kindom of God is made a reality on Earth. How often does someone do something kind for us that inspires us to pass that kindness on to somebody else?

Five years ago, one of my friends sent me a text saying “Happy Wednesday!” just for fun. To return the kindness, I texted her “Happy Friday!” later that week. I thought it was a fun idea, so I started texting her every Friday with a new message of affirmation or plain silliness to brighten her day. It’s not world-changing, but it makes her happy, and this practice has helped me to be more attentive to the joys in life even when it’s been an objectively bad week. We become rich not when we get a raise at work (though that is always nice), but when we build relationships with the people around us.

One of my favorite examples of God’s love made manifest through humanity is the saints, particularly in their variety. Each saint had different callings and gifts that they utilized in order to bring God’s love about. Allow me to call attention to a few favorites.

My confirmation saint is St. Genevieve. While she is said to have stopped the siege of Paris by Attila the Hun through her organization of a prayer rally, the story that stuck out to 13 year old Rachel most was something much smaller. St. Genevieve was praying by candlelight in a chapel when Satan blew out her candle in an attempt to scare her and shake her faith. Spoiler alert–it didn’t work. I simply liked that she wasn’t afraid of the dark.

If today were not a Sunday, we would be celebrating the feast of St. Matthew the Apostle. A close friend of Jesus and gospel writer, St. Matthew’s story reminds us that changing your mind can be a holy act. I’m sure hearing this parable on dishonest wealth brought up some memories for the former tax collector.

My final favorite is not yet canonized. Servant of God Julia Greeley was an emancipated slave and daily Mass goer with a devotion to the Sacred Heart. She was well known in her parish community for her acts of charity. Having little herself, she begged to fulfill her own needs and those of others. Julia Greeley reminds me to pay more attention to the people I see at Mass every day, and that anyone can be holy.

Maybe we’re not going to stop a siege or write a gospel. Maybe we don’t need to work miracles. We just need to talk to someone who’s lonely or buy an extra meal for someone who needs it. If you happen to find yourself able to work miracles through the grace of God, by all means, go for it! But until then, be trustworthy in the small matters. Find your calling. Loving is no small task. It is difficult, but it does not have to be big. We all have something to give–often more than we think.

Rachel Esser (she/her) is a St. Louis, Missouri native currently working towards her MA in Theology and Ministry at Boston College. She joined DignityUSA in 2024 and loves being a part of the Young Adult Caucus. She hopes to continue the work already being done for LGBTQ+ advocacy and inclusion in the church through her own call to ministry.