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July 15, 2021Lately I’ve been listening to a great podcast that looks at the Old Testament in new (to me) ways. They often mention the meaning behind certain numbers, explaining that these numbers (7, 12, 40, for example) come up a lot in biblical literature, and have meaning to the people of the story. Of course, no one on the podcast was alive at the time they’re describing, but the stories and traditions and meanings have been passed on through the centuries, and they (we) can make reasonable guesses based on what we see in the text.
But it got me to thinking… what will people in the future guess (reasonably) about what we value right now? I imagine someone, 60 years from now, looking at all the listicles that are popular now, all the top-ten lists that have been published in the last 20 years, and saying to each other “in the late 1900s and early 2000s, the number 10 was considered holy and important!”
I wonder… what will people in the future know about us, here at MQOA, based on how we live now?
It seems to me that we must be sure about who we are now, and what we value, and we must communicate our values and priorities and beliefs clearly, so they can be passed on to future generations with integrity. That’s why I’m loving Fr. Murray’s series of articles in the bulletins over the last few weeks. He’s making it clear that this parish is on a particular mission — a mission of healing and evangelizing — and that everything we do comes from and points back to Jesus’ presence among us in the Eucharist.
While we work hard to keep the buildings beautiful and safe, we do so with that mission in mind; that their beauty and safety will house our mission, make it possible for people to come and meet Jesus, be healed, and feel welcomed. We hire great staff and pay just wages so that the Good News can be shared to everyone. We make decisions slowly and intentionally, and with the help of people who have stepped up as leaders in the parish, and we do it all to support the mission of the parish.
We hope someday that someone on a podcast will be telling the people of the future about our little parish, famous for how welcome we made people feel, how many people were healed, and how we attracted people to know Jesus and to receive Him in the sacraments.
