“Do you know what you are? You are a
marvel. You are unique. In all the years that have passed, there has
never been another child like you. Your legs, your arms, your clever fingers, the way you move.
You may become a Shakespeare, a Michaelangelo,
a Beethoven. You
have the capacity for anything.
Yes, you are a marvel.”
This is part
of a beautiful poem by Pablo Casals, and it speaks
the truth about every person in here.
Do you think
of yourself this way every day? Do you
walk around knowing in your heart that you are a marvel, a miracle, and so is
every person you meet? I don’t. But I sure feel better when I do think about
this.
Each of you was
formed by God before you were born. The
psalmist sings to God: “For you
created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb”
(139:13). This
means that you are a living
manifestation of an idea of God. Of
GOD!!!!! How incredible! God, the most perfect and all-knowing being,
had an idea, and it was you. Your arms and legs, the way you move, your
clever fingers. Even the way you
think. Your sense of
humor. The
special things that you care about.
God thought of all of
that! God thought of a combination of
traits that would make a good person, and then made those into a person and it
was you! This is incredible.
Every detail
of you, even the details that no one else knows about, is a thought of God and
is holy.
It is hard to
think that way sometimes. We begin to
latch on to certain aspects of our character and think of those as our identity.
Things like, “I
am a good soccer player,” or “I am good at math,” or “I am a funny person.”
But what
happens on the days when the soccer game doesn’t go so well? When math seems hard? When no one laughs at your jokes, or maybe
you don’t feel like making jokes? Does
that mean that you are not you anymore?
No, it
doesn’t. All of your talents and your
challenges are part of who you are. And
who you are is an idea of God. That
makes you a marvel, ALL the time.
But what does
that mean? What do we do now? You might ask, why
did God give me some talents and not others?
Why do my friends and siblings have different talents than I have? Why are some days so hard?
The answer to
this is in the second part of your identity, which is your purpose. We were all created in a very unique
way. None of us looks the same, acts the
same, walks the same way, laughs the same way, loves
the same way. But we all have the same
purpose here on Earth.
Your job and
mine is two fold:
Each of us is
called to love God (and be loved by God), and to give God’s love to every
person on this Earth. Our many
differences mean that we can love in a more complete way and reach more people
with our many different ways of showing love.
Showing God’s love to others is
our task, our calling. Knowing what our
calling is and being aware of it every day can bring much peace. You don’t have to be an A student or a star
athlete, or ANYTHING other than who you are.
You are a marvel!
There have
been times in my life that were very difficult.
In high school, three of my very good friends died in tragic accidents
within two months. I was nearly broken. The course of my future was altered by the
sadness that I felt then. Later, my
parents divorced and broke my heart again.
Those times were full of anxiety.
I was not sure who I was or what was important to me. I lost a sense of my own worth. I even felt unsure sometimes of whom God is. I didn’t know what direction to take my life.
Thank God for
the church. In church, I could feel
God’s love and feel like I really was a creation of God—one of God’s
ideas. I felt like I could make it
through my personal heartache because deep down I knew that I was loved and that
my calling was to love. The saints were
examples for me of how God’s love can make the trials of life on Earth seem
less troublesome. Instead of feeling
sorry for themselves, the saints have focused on their
calling, to love God and their neighbor, and life had purpose and meaning.
I also began
to think of myself as a child of God, and offered my life to God’s will. I prayed that God’s will
would be done in my life and I braced myself for what such a prayer
would bring! Be careful what you ask
for! I began to think that each event in
my life was the unfolding of God’s plan, and I welcomed it. I felt like I was being developed by God and
given new gifts all the time, some of which caused me many tears.
At this point
in my life, I find myself overwhelmed with blessings. I am healthy.
I have a wonderful husband whom I love and who loves me. My parents are both happy again. I have meaningful work. I am a part of the awesome St. Martin’s
community, and life is good!
I feel like
Mary, Jesus’ mother, when she said: “From now on all generations will call me
blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me—holy is his name” Luke
1:48b-49.
But even in
the good times, I sometimes encounter anxiety.
There is no way that a person can deserve the kind of blessings I have
received, which makes me a little uncomfortable sometimes. I well know that some happinesses don’t last forever, and that more hard
times are sure to come.
The same
thought that brought me comfort when I was sad helps to calm my anxiety
now. I offer thanks for all of my
blessings. I pray that God’s will will be done in my life. I pray that I will live up to my calling to
love God and love others. This brings me
peace.
I don’t have
to think of myself as a teacher, or a runner, or a wife, or a daughter. Sometimes these identities might be hard to
live up to. Instead, I think of myself
as an idea of God, created into a human being for the purpose of loving God and
loving others. This identity is who we
all truly are. This identity does not
change when winds of change blow though other areas of our life.
What a
calming thought! Even if every other
aspect of my life is turned upside down, I will still be an idea of God,
brought into being for the purpose of loving God and loving others.
Our tasks are
something we are all capable of, all the time.
While we all have many different talents and many different challenges,
we are all able to love.
There is a
song that I learned while in a youth group in middle school, and I often sing
it to myself. It brings me the comfort
of knowing who I am and what my purpose is.
It offers thanks to God for all of our many blessings and it asks that
God prepare me to do my jobs: to love God and others. I would like to teach it to you now.
Lord, prepare me
to be a sanctuary
pure and holy
tried and true.
With thanksgiving,
I want to be a living
sanctuary
Lord, for you.
I hope that as we leave
here this morning and go about our week, we can al think of ourselves as
marvels and everyone we meet as miracles.