Stories of unsung heroes inspire us. An excavator-turned archaeologist just keeps digging while somebody else gets the glory for his finds. A forty-eight-year-old singer from a village in rural England is unknown until someone hands her a microphone. A mathematical genius at NASA is unseen because she is of the wrong gender and skin color.
Some of you who are reading this may have been applauded for your deeds of heroic virtue. I suspect most of you have not. The realization of what you hope for may come about in your lifetime. Or it may not.
In my garden, there are low-maintenance plants and high maintenance plants. Last summer, I grew acorn squash. I had three plants and weeded them from time to time and then let them be. They produced forty-seven acorn squash. I also had eighteen poles of green beans with four plants per pole. I had to go out every day and pick or I would be overrun with overripe leathery beans.
In God’s garden, does the Gardener prefer acorn squash to pole beans? In today’s parables, it seems that Jesus is extolling low maintenance servants and managers—those who just get on and do their job. They are self-directed, hard-working, and faithful even when no one is watching them. Like the acorn squash, they bear abundant fruit.
Where does that heroic virtue come from?
The Holy Spirit gives the courage of hidden faithfulness. A man gets out of bed for a job he hates in order to support a family he loves. A woman is continually good to another though she never receives any thanks. One forgives even though there is no reward for it. That is simple heroic virtue in ordinary life.
To be an unsung saint is challenging. The Lord says, be one anyway.
Consider/Discuss
- Applause is motivating. When someone cheers you on, it can give you a shot of adrenaline. And yet applause can also lead you astray, so that you do things for the sake of a “thumbs up.” How is it more difficult to do the right thing when no one is looking? How can we avoid becoming resentful when others are recognized? How can we continue to bear good fruit no matter what is going on around us?
- We don’t often think about who the Holy Spirit is in ordinary life. Yet to discover God hidden in all things awakens a secret passion that makes living vibrant and vigorous. This week, look for the steadfastness of God. Recognize the everyday faithfulness you see in yourself and others. Then write down how you have seen God at work in quiet and unseen ways. Maybe even send a note of thanks to someone who does good without being seen?
Living and Praying with the Word
Lord, you have given us much. Yet we don’t always see that. Open our eyes to see what you have provided. Help us be faithful with that. You expect much from us who have been given much. Help us not to be afraid, but bold in doing good, whether seen or unseen. Most of all, you have given us your Spirit, our source of strength. You have not walked away to leave us on our own, watching from a distance to see what we do. You are not that sort of Divine Master. You are here with us at all times, helping us to be faithful. Thank you, thank you, thank you for that!