Mtr Mary Trainor

Dear friend,

"There are no small parts, only small actors." These familiar words are attributed to Konstantin Stanislavski, credited with developing what we now know as  “method acting.”

Across a lifetime of faith, each of us is cast in varying parts in the great Holy Drama. Some big. Some little. We do not get to choose every role, and some roles are far less appealing than others.

And yet, we always have the choice of whether to be a large or small actor.

Years ago, I sat witness as the boss helped a staff member sort through a workplace conflict. Periodically this woman and another employee locked horns. While usually good friends, every once in awhile the two got stuck and needed help navigating their self-created wilderness. This time was the worst. They weren’t talking and everyone who worked with them was affected.

The boss was good in these situations. After hearing the one woman’s account, the boss reflected: “You know you need to go to your friend, break the ice, and patch things up.”

That is not the answer the woman wanted. “Why is it always me who has to initiate reconciliation?” The boss said, “Because you are the one who is aware; you are the one who will do it.”  That was her role. She didn’t want it, but she would do it, and she would do it with all her heart. She was, it would seem, a large actor.

"There are no small parts, only small actors." 

Jesus had twelve apostles, yet many people—if put on the spot—might struggle to name more than six of them. Bartholomew surely is among those scarcely remembered.

In the Episcopal Church, today is the Feast of St. Bartholomew the Apostle. There are few scriptural references to him. He is named among the disciples in Matthew, Mark and Luke. He is not mentioned in John, but Nathanael is, leading to speculation they are one and the same. And, perhaps most significantly, Bartholomew is a presumed witness to the Ascension, being among those who gathered afterward in Jerusalem.

If biblical citations were a measure of role, Bartholomew had a pretty small part. But we know from other sources that he went to the ends of the earth for his Lord.

The historian Eusebius claims Bartholomew traveled to India with the Words of Jesus on his lips for all who would hear. There he left a copy of the Gospel of Matthew, before joining Jude on a missionary trip to Armenia. Ultimately he was martyred, his final earthly role.

Maybe his name never made the marquee, but this Apostle gave everything he had in service to Jesus.

He was definitely no small actor.

Mtr. Mary

Perhaps I will see you at 2pm today for a service of Holy Eucharist on this Feast of St. Bartholomew the Apostle. At this same service, Bishop Jennifer A. Reddall will ordain Henry Hoffman to the transitional diaconate. It is a great celebration and everyone is encouraged to be there. A light reception follows in the Murphey Gallery.