Last month, in reading the daily readings, I read what I think to be one of the saddest and yet most relatable lines in the Bible:

"They were astounded. They had not understood the incident of the loaves. On the contrary, their hearts were hardened." (emphasis mine)

This passage from Mark 6 recounts the Walking on the Water, which takes place directly after the Feeding of the 5,000.

(I love how Thomas in The Chosen cries out, "How is this the second most incredible thing I've seen today?!")

And yet, what is the disciples' response? Hardened hearts.

They who were closest to Jesus, who were working for Him, who had just witnessed one of His most incredible miracles...their hearts were hardened.

And yet those who were far away from Him and have an absence of Him — Bartimaeus, the woman with the hemorrhage, the centurion — are able to recognize Him immediately.

Why? Because I think in part that by working for Jesus, it made it harder for the disciples to see Jesus.

And as I read that verse, I thought back to my own 8+ years in parish ministry:

➡ I used to be in the church for hours every weekend (I was the "weekend coordinator" which meant I attended all the Masses and acted as sacristan/ministry coordinator/event coordinator/wearer of all the hats) — and yet genuflecting became a matter of routine, not actually recognizing Who I was genuflecting to.

➡ I can't tell you the number of times I was on the parish grounds, just steps away from the Blessed Sacrament, without popping in to visit Him.

➡ I served literally thousands of people in a whole bunch of ways...but I hardly ever stopped to pray for them as I did so.

➡ I talked so much about Jesus, but I didn't spend nearly enough time praying to Him.

(In fact, the only personal prayer I'd pray during work was before I'd answer the front desk phone, praying that whoever was on the other end had a simple problem I could solve.)

I think this verse is an important warning for those of us who work for a church: We have a front row seat to the miracles Jesus works every day, so we can get so used to His presence that we fail to really see Him.

So I want to encourage you today: Go spend five minutes with Jesus in the church and just say hi to Him.

Right now, if possible.

Because the greatest marketing tip I can ever give you is to include Jesus in it. Jesus is the best marketer out there. He wants to win souls and get more people to your parish even more than you do.

So our job is to watch Him, to see Him for who He is, and then share the His love and joy in every little task we do.

(Our marketing will be 100x more effective if we can do that, let alone our witness.)

All the other practical strategies I teach won't work if we do them with hearts of stone.

And trust me, I know why you'd have a heart of stone. Parish burnout is so real. No one gets it unless you've done it.

But the #1 way to treat that burnout is to turn to Him with it. Let Him into it. Ask Him to let you see Him, to not have a hardened heart.

So please, from the other side of parish ministry — go visit Jesus in the church today.

I'll be praying for your heart and your marketing to radiate with His joy this week.

For His greater glory,

Emily

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