What does your heart yearn for...

I was at a continuing education event for the clergy just a few months ago and the presenter asked us this question, “what does your heart cry or yearn for?”  What does your heart yearn for?  That question stayed with me as I made notes that day and I have looked back at my answers as crazy as they might be.

So ask yourself, “What does your heart yearn for?”  A few of my notes said this.  My heart yearns for God’s kingdom to grow in faith and love, so I pray for the faithful of God that they might experience God’s love and grace.  My heart yearns for my family as they grow and respond to God’s call in their own lives.  My heart yearns for this nation and I pray that we may be focused on God’s voice, and work for the common good of all people.  What might your answer be?  What does your heart yearn for?

The second question posed by the presenter was to identify what the people around us in our parishes, communities, work locations, and schools needed from the people of God.  As a society we recognize that our values and our common shared understanding of the world has radically changed in the last 5 years.  The change was underway even before the pandemic, but many people were profoundly impacted by the isolation and loneliness that the pandemic caused.  In addition, the rapid advances in technology had caused many people to feel forgotten and disposable.  Face to face interactions are often over electronic communications and the sense of community is fragmented.  Wars in multiple places, environmental disasters, and world hunger are examples of those things which we feel powerless to change.

However, just because the world around us has changed in unexpected and sometimes undesired ways, that does not mean that we as a community of faith and the people of God can’t make a difference in the values and culture of our world.  We have God’s presence and a sense of community and belonging that the world so desperately needs.  We have a way to connect people to meaning and value outside of themselves, a connection to God and to others.  St. Catherine’s has started and continues to have a wonderful ministry of welcome and inclusion, but that is only the beginning of helping to meet the needs of the world around us.  We are called to do more.

The open question for us to ponder is, “What is the Church called to do?”

Look again at those baptismal vows we all promised to live into with God’s help.  In case you don’t have them memorized, check The Book of Common Prayer at the bottom of page 304 and the top of page 305.  There are five promises that we all made.  We felt we could make those vows to God, because we knew that God would help us live into the promises we made.  I believe that those five baptismal promises may help us to answer the questions about how we are called to live and how we might make an impact on the world around us.  We are the Church, the body of Christ and we can make a difference in the world and in the lives of those whom God places in our sphere of influence.  Together, we can make a difference.  Live into your baptismal vows one day at a time, one moment at a time, trusting that God will equip us for the work.

Yours in Christ’s service, Mother Pat+