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Humble Service To Others And Trumpeting The Goodness Of The Lord
12/22/2024
Sarah was wedged in between Grace and Emma. The pew was crowded today. Ronny was sitting beside Emma and Mandy was crammed in between Elka and Grace.
She was feeling sad this morning.
Staś had been very grumpy last night, and he was still gruff this morning when they climbed into the truck to go to church.
Leo became distant after the demo. He had returned home without coming back to say goodnight. She texted him before bed, and he said ‘Love you’, but something was missing.
To make matters worse, she could usually see what was going on when she sat on the Murray side of the aisle.
Grace and Emma’s friend, Whitney, was siting in front of her and she had big hair. The only thing Sarah could see in front of her were backs, shoulders and Whitney’s enormous hedge of curly black hair.
‘Okay, let’s just treat this like a podcast. This time isn’t about sitting with Leo. This is my time with God.’ She closed her eyes and tuned in on Fr. Tom’s homily.
“As with the Risen Lord, our experience with the Word Made Flesh comes in the interaction between two women. Two women of faith recognizing Jesus signify these holy seasons.
“In this case, the Blessed Virgin undertook the hazardous journey to the home of Zechariah to be of service to her cousin, Elizabeth. The Annunciation was not only to tell Mary of the conception of Jesus through the Holy Spirit, but also to tell her of how God had allowed Elizabeth to conceive.
“Elizabeth was an older woman who was thought to be barren. When Mary learned of her miraculous pregnancy, she resolved to endure the journey to be of service to her cousin.
“She was very early in her pregnancy, so there was no way for Elizabeth or anyone else to know. When she arrived, Elizabeth’s baby leapt in the womb. John the Baptist, who was at this time John the Baby, knew the Incarnate Lord and jumped for joy. Elizabeth knew, too. Through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, she knew her younger cousin was carrying the Word Made Flesh, and she said these words that are so familiar and dear to us all.
“Elizabeth exclaimed, ‘Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.’ She and her baby both knew that Mary was with child and that child was the Messiah.
“As I mentioned, these are two women of exemplary faith. Mary heard the words of Angel Gabriel and said, ‘Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.’ She also heard from the archangel that her elderly cousin was in her sixth month as proof that with God, nothing is impossible.
“Mary was the very soul of selfless service and Elizabeth was of such magnificent faith that she could sense the presence of Our Lord and glorify her cousin aloud.
“How can we do less?
“This is the very heart of what it is to be in service to the Almighty. Humble service to others and trumpeting the goodness of the Lord.
“That is Christianity in a nutshell, but we don’t want it in a nutshell. We want it out in the open. The Gospels are our nutcrackers. Nuts are no good to us in the shell. We need to crack that shell to receive our nutrition. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord. Let us now stand and profess our faith.”
The congregation stood. Sarah could feel the movement. She opened her eyes, but the view hadn’t improved. ‘Humble service to others and trumpeting the goodness of the Lord.’ She stood beside her godsisters and followed along in the missalette.
‘He said the Fourth Sunday of Advent was the Sunday of Love, but it’s not just about the way I love Leo. It’s about loving everyone. We are all God’s children, so we should love everyone.’ She looked up from the order of service to find Whitney’s wall of black hair. ‘I’d love if she put that in a ponytail.’
She sighed and thought about whether to look over at the Murrays. Leo had been distant last night. Would he even acknowledge her if she looked over at him?
‘What did I do? I don’t think I did anything to upset him. Think, think, think.’
She looked anyway. She caught Leo’s eye, and he gave her a little wave.
‘I don’t know what it is, but I have to fix this.’ She followed along and sat as the congregation sat. ‘If I could see past Whitney’s mountain of hair, I might know why we’re sitting.’ She huffed.
Grace leaned in to whisper, “Are you okay?”
“I don’t know what I did.”
“Huh?”
“Leo cooled off last night. I don’t think I did anything, but I must have.”
“We’ll figure it out after church.” She squeezed Sarah’s hand.
Sarah nodded.
The choir performed The Magnificat, and they sounded like angels to her. “Magníficat ánima mea Dóminum. Et exultávit spíritus meus: in Deo salutári meo…”
She had no idea what they were saying, but it stirred something deep inside. The others rose. She was going to sit and wait, but Grace tugged at her sleeve.
“Come along.”
“I can’t. I’m not allowed.”
“You’re not allowed to receive the Host, but you can come up and receive a blessing. Just cross your arms like this. Come along.”
She shimmied along with the family toward the altar rail. Finally delivered from the shadow of Whitney’s hair, she could see the intricate carvings in every beam and arch of the nave.
Grace repeated the gesture as a reminder, and Sarah approached Fr. Tom with her arms crossed over her chest.
He smiled and made the sign of the cross as he said, “Corpus Christi te custodiat in vitam æternam.” Seeing her confusion, he said. “May the Body of Christ keep you unto eternal life.”
She turned and followed Grace back to their pew, feeling light and relieved.
Staś winked at her and gave a little smile. Elka looked proud and nodded.
She studied Grace’s cousin, Amanda. ‘No wonder Chris likes her. She looks like an angel.’ Turning to the rest of the family, she found Emma and Ronny sitting arm in arm. Josh sat in tense silence at the end of the pew.
If Chris was mad about Mandy, Josh didn’t seem to think much of Whitney. ‘He’s probably scared of her hair, too.’
She took a deep breath and prayed for wisdom. ‘How am I supposed to do this? I can’t concentrate for two seconds. I’m never going to have the discipline to…’
The organ prelude to the recessional hymn swelled and rattled her ribcage. She liked that about this church. It was like the music reached inside and grabbed her heart. “People look east, the time is near. Of the crowning of the year…” She had marked her place in the hymnal, and this was the last bookmark. She looked over at the Murrays again. Mary smiled at her, and Leo waved again. “…Love, the guest, is on the way.”
Out in the narthex, she was clustered with the girls as their parents made the rounds.
“Earth to Sarah.” Grace waved.
“Huh?”
Amanda blushed, making her look even more like an angel. Her fair complexion and flaxen curls completed the look. “What do you think of Christopher?”
“Chris? He’s very nice. He and Joe have that low-key middle child vibe, but Chris is more outgoing.”
“Is it true he asked about me?”
“He asked Emma while we were waiting for the demo to get started. Not sure what he said, exactly, but it was out of the blue.” Sarah looked around for Leo. ‘Guess they’re not out yet.’
“Oh, my. Why would he do that?” She giggled nervously.
“Leo’s the baby of the family. I guess his big brothers didn’t want to be left behind on the marriage front.” Sarah shrugged.
“Marriage?” Mandy’s eyes widened. “Did Leo ask you?”
“He kind of can’t. Not until I’m in the church, anyway.”
“So, you think Chris and Joe are trying to jump the line?”
“I think they see how happy he’s been, and it reminded them that they could be happy, too. You’d think they’d have learned that from John. He and Joan are such a cute couple. Who wouldn’t want to be like them?”
“Emma, come over here.” Grace waved to her.
Emma broke off from a conversation to join the girls. “I was talking to Jessie about Lamaze classes. What’s the matter?”
“What did Christopher say to you?”
“Have you seen Amanda? No build up. No context. Just right out in the open. Have you seen Amanda? Well, of course I saw you at Thanksgiving.” Emma rolled her eyes.
“What did you say?” Mandy was breathless.
“Told him you’d tutor him in Polish if he wanted.”
She hid her face behind her hands. “What? Why’d you tell him that? I can’t speak Polish. That’s ridiculous.”
Emma massaged her lower back. “I wanted to see the look on his face when he asked you for Polish lessons. I think you could easily land either Chris or Joe. Joe just wants somebody who can cook.”
“That’s a little sad.”
Sarah shook her head. “More specifically, he wants somebody who can make gourmet Shepherd’s Pie like Leo. He was talking my ear off about the egg wash on my thumb-print cookies.”
“Oh, he seems intense.”
“He’s an engineer. He’s got laser focus on the details.”
“An engineer?” Whitney asked. “And all he wants is a gourmet cook?”
Sarah shrugged. “Leo said he’s ready to put a ring on anyone who fits the bill.”
“Think he’d like a bento box?”
“If I knew what it was, I might be able to tell you. Hang on. I’ll ask Leo.” She dug her phone from her coat pocket. ‘Finally, an excuse to text Leo.’
Do you think Joe would like if
Whitney made a bento box for him?
Whatever that is… 🤔
“I’m not sure if he’s–” Her phone vibrated
Who is Whitney and why is she
trying to enslave my brother?
“Looks like that’s a yes on the bento box. Pretty good chance he’ll trade yours for a little velvet one.”
“You’re kidding?”
“Only slightly. I think he’d want to get your ring size before–”
“Five and a half.” Whitney wiggled her ring finger.
‘Good thing Josh didn’t like you. Wouldn’t want to start a civil war here.’ Sarah smiled.
She’s a 5.5
Leo’s eyebrows knitted.
“What’s the matter?” Chris asked
“Sarah is trying to set Joe up with somebody, but she’s only a five and a half.”
“It’s what’s inside that matters, bro. Sometimes your better half is a cute little ginger elf and sometimes the beauty is all on the inside.”
“Easy to say when the girl you’re crushing on looks like she ought to be sitting on top of a Christmas tree.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Don’t play coy with me. You were asking Emma about Mandy. I was in the SMS chain for that little freak out.”
“Mandy?”
“Yes, that’s how they address her. You asked about Amanda Gajewski and miraculously, she turns up in the Chmielewski’s pew this morning. Coincidence? I think not.”
“Mandy Murray?”
“Don’t get ahead of yourself, Chris. You haven’t even asked her out yet. You don’t know her at all. She may look like an angel, but that doesn’t ensure she acts like one.”
“Fair point, but I’ll take my chances. What do you mean ‘freak out’?” Chris looked around the church as their line moved slowly toward Father Tom.
“You know how girls are.”
“I don’t, actually.”
“As soon as you asked Emma about Amanda, you started a nuclear chain reaction. They knew exactly what you were asking, and they began conspiring to set you up. It’s like dropping a meatball in the piranha tank. Joe, are you okay?”
He was massaging his temples. “Can’t shake this darned headache.”
“Look, the judges come tonight. We’ll put on our performance and that will be the end of it. Take heart in the fact you can finally get some sleep and enjoy the holidays.”
“Of course, you’re right. It will be nice to relax for once. Mom, do you have any headache pills with you?”
“Joseph, you look ill.” She rifled through her clutch for a pill case. “Take this and here’s a packet of peanut butter crackers.”
“Mom, I–”
“Don’t talk. Eat. Take that pill and eat.”
“But we’re still–”
“Joseph.” She felt his forehead.
He managed to swallow the pill with nothing to drink. His mother was staring him down, but eating in the nave sat wrong with him. “I have nothing to drink. I’ll sit down in the social hall and eat these with a cup of tea.”
“No time for niceties.” She frowned. “Leonard, Christopher, take your brother directly to the social hall and see that he eats these. Your father and I will greet Father Tom. Go.”
“You heard her.” Chris said. “Out the side door.”
Stepping out into the hallway, they could see into the narthex. Sarah’s red hair stuck out as a focal point. Joe recognized Sarah, Grace, Emma and Amanda, but not the dusky beauty standing with them. “Who’s that?”
Leo looked at the circle of women. “I don’t know, but she’s no five and a half.”
“What?”
“Don’t worry about it. We need to get some breakfast in you, Joe. Come on.”