Challenges and rewards

Today’s readings offer us many challenges: strong denunciation of rich oppressors in the first reading (James 5:1-6) and our Lord’s strong warning in today’s Gospel (Mark 9:41-50) for us to make the changes we need to make in our lives: using amputation as an analogy.

But, lest we get discouraged, our Lord also tells us that there will be rewards even for the small good things people do.

Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink
because you belong to Christ,
amen, I say to you, will surely not lose his reward.

May we be ever more faithful to Christ’s truth and love in all things, great and small.