August 18, 2024
The following reflection was written by Fr. Richard Murphy, Associate Pastor of St. Michael the Archangel Church in Greenwich. A member of the New Day bereavement team, he read this recently during a gathering of the ministry’s facilitators.
The Painter’s Brush
God is creating a most beautiful work of art and we are His brush. He loads us up with a certain color appropriate for that time and portion of the work. To progress, needing another color He must clean the brush of the former color. Not because it is bad, but it is inappropriate for the present need.
If the bristles effectively release the old pigment, it will receive the new so as to enable the Artist to continue His wonderful work, using that brush. The former color is still part of the scene, but now new ones are joined to it. Letting go of the beautiful things we are entrusted with in this passing world does not mean they are lost to us.
If we refuse to let go as needed, we become ineffective for the Master’s continued work of art, of which that former gift still is a part. Letting go of good things and people when needed is hard, but at the Master Artist’s discretion, it must be done so that the masterpiece may be completed. In the end, what we long for — the Master’s joy which we share — will be fulfilled. It is the reason for all these blessings.
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