“A Dazzling Tapestry”
We celebrated the Ascension of our Lord last week. Among Jesus’s last words to his followers was this commission: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature.”
Shortly after that, the visible Jesus ascended. However, He’s still with us—in other ways. As Fr. Thomas said last weekend, we ourselves are now the Body of Christ. Jesus now acts in the world through our voices, hearts and hands.
I’ve found it interesting to hear Fr. Thomas’s observations about St. Matt’s parish, given that he’s pretty new here. I note what he’s noticing about how we live out the mission Jesus gave to us. He’s noticed our ministries, our care for the poor, our openness to all, and our many volunteers. As he put it, St. Matt’s is “a dazzling tapestry” of hope, faith and love.
At the same time, he’s noticing opportunities we might have overlooked. That’s a gift of new people in any setting. It’s easy for not-new people to stop noticing things that might need attention.
A case in point: hospitality. I think we’re pretty good here at St. Matt’s. I hear that from people pretty often. I also think we can do better. For example, I’m interested in rolling out nametags. I like knowing people’s names, and I’m willing to share mine.
Full disclosure: much of my thinking about nametags comes from Fr. Thomas’s stories about how St. Thomas Becket used them to support hospitality. (Fr. Thomas was the founding pastor there.) That was critical in starting a new parish from scratch.
We’re not new as a parish. We do have new people on a regular basis. Let’s welcome them with our names, get to know them, and incorporate them into the life of our faith community. Let’s add them to our tapestry.
Have a great week!
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