Epiphany
January 13, 2021
Scripture Reading:
Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18
O Lord, you have searched me and known me.
You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from far away.
You search out my path and my lying down,
and are acquainted with all my ways.
Even before a word is on my tongue,
O Lord, you know it completely.
You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; –Psalm 139:1-6
How well do we know ourselves? How hard do we work at perfecting the person we are rather than changing ourselves to be someone else? In the story of Creation recorded in Genesis 1, we learn that humans were made in God’s image. When God surveyed all that had been created, God saw that it was good.
In Mark 12:31, quoting from Leviticus 19:9-18, Jesus tells us to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. Part of the problem today is that many people have trouble loving themselves as God created them to be. If we do not love ourselves, how will we love our neighbors? We live in an environment that can and does attempt to define people in castes or hierarchies that are not true. They, however, set the stage for our internalizing the prejudices and stereotypes of others. Once we have taken on these ideas, we evaluate ourselves and others by those same prejudgments. Approximately 8 to 10% of the world population has blue eyes. Of the first 45 presidents of the United States, 30 or 67% had blue eye*, which most likely means they have a white, European background. We make judgments of ourselves and others by our misinterpretations of facts, not in evidence. There is a direct correlation between the number of Mexican lemon imports and the lowering of highway deaths. Does that mean we need to import more Mexican lemons to reduce road hazards?
Ridding ourselves of prejudices and stereotypes is impossible without the loving intervention of God, our Creator. That is why Psalm 139 is one of my favorite readings in the Bible. God knows us thoroughly, loves us completely, and if we invite and allow God to toil with us, we can persevere to be the person God created us to be. The more we grow toward being that person, the more God enables us to love one another and accept how each of us was wonderfully and beautifully made.
Prayer: Lord, I open my whole being to you today to clear out my prejudices and stereotypes and help me learn to celebrate the worth of all your other creatures, great and small. Amen.
*https://www.1800contacts.com/eyesociety/eye-color-of-winners-over-time/#:~:text=From%20the%20president’s%20eyes&text=In%20fact%2C%20blue%20eyes%20most,be%20a%20green%20eyed%i20president.
All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.