Clergy Notes — Ninth Sunday After Pentecost, July 21, 2024

One of the things I love most about being a parish priest is getting to meet so many different kinds of people. I love hearing their stories, but – even more – I love the stories BEHIND the stories. I love discovering the beautiful humanity underneath the outward appearances; the glorious golden threads that make people who they truly are. These are often the things – paradoxically – that we try to hide from others; the things we often call our ‘faults’ or ‘flaws.’ They may also be the things only God and the people who love us most get to see. It is a rare and special gift for me that I get to see them too, sometimes.

I’ve learned from listening to the stories beneath the stories, that one of the things many of us share is a sense that we are not special, nor important. We do not truly believe that we can make any sort of difference in the world; that even the things we might be good at are not good enough; that since we cannot be the best at whatever it is that brings us joy, we should probably not tell people about it, because when they find out we aren’t the best, it will be embarrassing.

What makes me sad about this is that if everyone thinks this way, and everyone gives up on the things that bring them joy, there will be less art in the world; less beauty; less song; less prayer; less love. In a world that is burning out of control with evil and hatred and ugliness, we need every refreshing drop of beauty we can manage. Even if it feels like one tiny drop in the ocean, I am convinced that the little we each contribute makes all difference in the world.

If we truly believe what we proclaim – that God can do INFINITELY more than we can ask or imagine – then we must have faith that the tiny drop of joy, compassion, love, beauty, we each contribute will be magnified infinitely more in God’s hands, and used to help heal the world God loves so very much.

Mother Amanda

Download the Liturgy at Home booklet for Sunday, July 21, 2024.