As proof that you are children, God sent the spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!”
So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God. (Galatians 4:6-7)
June 17, 2025
Hello Everyone –
We are told that our God is a God of relationships. Jesus, through his earthly ministry, proclaims a great mystery — his relationship with the Father and the Spirit. Theologians tell us this mystery is something that can never be fully comprehended. And yet we are invited to grow in understanding — that Jesus will send the Spirit to guide and assist us.
So, imagine for a moment the work that goes into it.
An artisan creates a beautiful work of embroidery. The piece may be a covering for a chair — or a sanctuary wall hanging — a section of a quilt — or a simple, small bookmark. But it usually begins with a design that has been sketched in light pencil on the base fabric.
Then the real work begins — many painstaking hours of needlework — crewelwork — cross-stitching — quilting — work that brings the design to life in brilliant colors and textures.
But take a look at the reverse side of the finished piece. Behind the beautifully executed design is quite often a mixture of tangled knots and pieces of thread. Yet each knot — each messy tangle — on the unseen side of the fabric — is part of the overall plan that results in the beautiful embroidery on the front.
The God we struggle at times to understand is mirrored —in many ways — in the art of embroidery. God has designed creation to image the love and peace that is the very nature of God.
The completion of the design demands many knots we cannot see — many tangled threads we have to make straight — many hours of careful stitching.
Sometimes we do not realize the course of the threads — or the whys of some of the colors. We can become so confused with the messy — indecipherable underside of the embroidery that we cannot comprehend the beauty of the whole work.
And yet — God is the master artisan — who pulls the finished piece together:
- the Father who has wisely and lovingly devised the original design;
- the Son who reveals the how and why all the threads and knots complete the design;
- the Spirit who inspires us and guides us as we struggle to complete the embroidery which is our lives
May the recently celebrated feast of the Most Holy Trinity — and our daily desire to grow in deeper relationship with the living God — continue to awaken in each of us the longing for God’s powerful presence already active in our lives.
O Wisdom,
from the beginning
your hand has guided the work of creation.
The greatness of your works is ever before us,
in your kindness, send your Spirit upon us.
Make us new creations.
Help us to love like you. Amen.
As I do for you, please pray for me,
Most Reverend Jeffrey S. Grob
Archbishop of Milwaukee
Subscribe to The Branches