“And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you.”—Matthew 6:18
Each time I listen to a news clip, I wonder if there is any privacy in people’s lives. Something said or done in secret manages to come out in some form of social media. “And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you.” When we do anything good—especially in helping another—Jesus encourages us not to look for any recompense or any advertisement.
When I was visiting my brother in a nursing home in Hazleton last week, I stayed at an inn. Early in the morning while I ate my breakfast, I engaged in conversation with Lisa who was preparing and setting out breakfast for the patrons. She confided to me that she comes to work early, so that she can prepare food for the truck drivers. Lisa told me, “The truck drivers must get up very early to be on the road for their cross- country delivery trips. I want to be sure that they have a good meal to give them strength.” Now, Lisa doesn’t know these men personally. But she does know that their meal needs must be taken care of, if they are to do their jobs well. Now, isn’t this the message that Jesus is giving us in today’s gospel? Take care of people’s needs—quietly and unobtrusively when you notice them.
Prior to today’s reading from Kings, we see that God sends Elijah to different places and Elijah obeys. As in the case of Elijah, God doesn’t call each of us only once. No, God calls us to ministry many times, because there are so many people in need and we have many talents and personal gifts. We keep our hearts listening, being attentive to where God is directing our attention, our love, our service—as we witness in the example of Elijah in the Hebrew Scripture and Lisa today.
The beautiful part about our friendship with God is our realization that God has given each one of us many more personality gifts of grace than we realize. What keeps us focused on using our gifts for ministry within our family, our neighborhood, our parish, our country is our experience of God through being fed with the Eucharist, listening in prayer to God who guides us, and being attentive to other’s needs. Jesus underscores this fact by continually reminding us to share what personality and material talents we have.
Through our Baptism and Confirmation, we are called to give to others in need—emotionally, intellectually, materially, and spiritually—without expecting compensation. If each of us carried out our God-given mission to do good, little by little this goodness, care, and trust would become contagious and change our world.