We joke in seminary that one of our buzz words is "context". We can't give anything due consideration unless we have thought about the when, where, why, and how it came into being. When I think about the verses from 1 Corinthians 13:9-12 I find them very humbling. Paul tells the church in Corinth we only "see and know in part". Considering it is only likely God is capable of omniscience, we are not going to ever have all the facts even when they appear right in front of us. There will always be gaps in our memories and information. Sometimes we come across situations that appear to have no right answer. There is always a mystery surrounding us human beings with limited views. As we contemplate this, take the time to "see in a mirror, dimly" Try to see where you may have blindness in experiencing this world, and consider that there might be further blindnesses you are not even aware of! Let this invite you into a place of grace and compassion for our sisters and brothers who surround us on a daily basis.
Psalm 139 13- 16 (NRSV)
13For it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; that I know very well. 15My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. 16Your eyes beheld my unformed substance. In your book were written all the days that were formed for me, when none of them as yet existed. This week I considered the Psalm 139 specifically 13- 16. As an occasional knitter, I wondered literally what it would mean to be knitted together. It takes a great amount of time to knit something. Your hands ache and burn. Your nails become tender. It takes a great amount of patience. Every project I have worked on I have had to stop and start as my attention wained. Each stitch takes work and effort. If we go too fast without care we can drop a stitch and risk losing the whole thing, or ruining the pattern. Yet, for some reason it seems to all blend in. You can become surprised as it grows in length, but still know every little part you touched with care. I thought of my mother. I was carried by her for 9 months. She could never put me down or take a break, but she held me in her womb as I was slowly being formed inside her. My growth did not stop after my birth, but yet it had only begun. We have only begun to form at birth. It causes me to contemplate the journey of growth I have made, and consider what growth and change may be in my future, in all of our futures. Perhaps our substance may remain the same, but we can be reformed in our constant creation by God. How has God created and formed you? Where can you see God still working and creating within you? What identity are you still forming that you have yet to claim? |