Fidelity (Not the Insurance Kind)
A sign above my friends' kitchen sink. Reminds me of how fidelity is often expressed in our household. (Yes, through cleaning!)
(Originally written on 7-29-2023)
Welcome to Word for the Week, the series in which I:
share my experience of hearing God’s Word in Mass last weekend,
explore what I believe the Lord is calling me to do about that Word, and
ask how this Word might impact your life, as well.
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We were at our home parish last Sunday, for the first time in over a month. The celebrant was our newly-ordained Fr. Andrew, whose ordination Jamal and I attended this spring. The word that stood out to me was "fidelity."
I think the word was proclaimed as part of the psalm response. And for some reason, I'm picturing this word in green letters right now. I think there's an insurance company with that same title, right?
The simplest dictionary definition I could find for fidelity is: loyalty.
As I asked the Lord this week, what to do about this word, the sense I received was to watch. Particularly, to watch for the fruits of fidelity.
I didn't love the word "loyalty" in the past. I should say, in the past, loyalty sounded really boring. And for ongoing commitments (like marriage, as a prime example), I liked to think of it as a fresh decision to renew every day.
But this past year, I learned that fidelity can be smooth, uncomplicated, and comfortable when it's not a decision that needs to be made again and again.
Maybe it's both/and. We choose again, and also once we have chosen, we can rest in the mold that the Lord has shaped for us.
It makes me imagine two oxen, yoked together. Like Matthew 20:30, "For my yoke is easy, and my burden light." Perhaps fidelity has seemed unattractive to you, too.
Maybe it's unlovely when we’re resisting it. Pulling against something that's strapped to our shoulders seems like it would hurt. But when we accept it as a gift from the Lord, maybe there's naturally an ease to it.
Let's pray?
Lord, please grant us fidelity to what you're calling us to. In the hidden aspect of fidelity that is unlovely to us, please meet us and let us experience your yoke as easy, this burden as light. We ask this in Jesus' name, Amen.
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