September 24, 2026
“Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much.”
Luke 16:10
“We were not brave all at once.”
-testimony of Cornelia Knottnerus
Cornelia Knottnerus was a Dutch rescuer of children during the Holocaust. She spoke and wrote about the difficulty of being brave in the face of fascism and evil. For her, it was hard to be courageous in big meaningful ways, or alone. So she joined people she felt were braver and kinder than she was, and she joined their small acts of kindness that had been made illegal. She helped to deliver supplies, forge documentation, and eventually, to hide children from detention and certain death. She said, that little things added up, but they were not brave all at once.
War rages around the world right now, and it can feel overwhelming. Prices are soaring and assistance is scarce. It’s normal to feel powerless to help the people most in need in the midst of violence and oppression, and to feed the hungry and house the homeless wanderers. But in faith community, we can find the courage of others already working hard to do small acts of compassion and generosity, even when they are considered rebellious, unpatriotic, unpopular, or risky. The little things added up.
This week, a young girl showed up on the church steps as I arrived to work. She and her mother carried grocery bags full of food. I’d been hearing stories all week about more and more families and children being kicked off food assistance programs. My social worker contact requested twice the food bags as we had provided last year, and I was feeling discouraged. But this young lady heard the news and spent her own money to buy food for hungry kids. She asked her friend - a youth in my youth group - where she could help most. Her generosity and curiosity was the beginning of her courageous action. And this Sunday, her food, and what’s been brought by others will be packed for the food pantry we support at the local elementary school. It adds up. We don’t help the world one time. We each do our part. We aren’t brave all at once.
Prayer
Lord, make me brave each day in seeking the needs of others, the helpers who will go with me, and the small things I can do that add up. Amen.
Rev. Brian Daoust
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