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Fearfully and Wonderfully Made!

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“Fearfully and Wonderfully Made!”

Psalm 139:13-18 (Psalm 139:14) – June 2, 2024

            As some of you know, I am a new grandma. My lovely twin grandchildren were born recently, much-awaited, and very welcome to their family and their parents. I was praying for the twins each day while my daughter was pregnant, and now that they are here, growing and maturing, and being their own wonderful selves, of course I continue to pray for them.

            I have always felt a real connection with Psalm 139, but never more so than when I – with their parents – was awaiting the birth of my lovely grandchildren. This psalm was written by King David, and shows his trust and confidence that God is indeed with him, all the time. And, indeed, with all of us.

            As Dr. Streaty-Wimberly says in her commentary on this psalm, the 139th Psalm reveals an account of what may be called “an encounter of the closest kind” with God. What a statement! And, what a word-picture David paints here.

“The psalm details an intimate conversation with God in which the psalmist is speaker and God is listener. The psalmist focuses quickly in verses1-2 on the word, “know(n).” This key reference points to the psalmist’s relating to God the experience of not simply being recognized and acknowledged by God, but of belonging inseparably to God.” [1]

Along with the rest of my family, I eagerly awaited the arrival of my grandchildren! And, I find my wonder and amazement echoed by so many friends and acquaintances as they welcome newborns into their larger families, too.

One of the commentators I read has an extended example of her joy and wonder at welcoming her nephew. “My nephew was born on the day I started working on this commentary [about Psalm 139]. When the picture of Mason James arrived, my initial thoughts were, “There you are. What were you doing in there all of these months?” And then I read: For it was you who formed my inward parts;you knit me together in my mother’s womb (vs. 13).

“How did you go from a hoped-for dream of your parents to flesh and blood, bones, muscles and those long, skinny fingers and those cute ears?” I wondered. Then I read: My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes beheld my unformed substance (vs. 15).

“I wanted to shout, “Mason, you are perfect.” Yet this acclamation paled in comparison to his parents’ “You are perfect!” which pales in comparison to God’s “You are PERFECT!”

My hope for this little guy on his first day, his birth day, was that one day he would realize and pray with the psalmist, I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made (vs. 14). [2]

            What a marvelous addition to this commentary on such a rich, praise-worthy psalm! Dr. Hannan usually writes in a more academic style, but enriched and awed by the birth of her nephew, this particular commentary is unusually personal. And, her prayer is heartfelt.

            Sure, if we go to biology and look at the growth of a bunch of cells inside a female mammal, we can still be intellectually amazed by the intricacy of the growing being inside of the uterus. However, when we take into consideration the reference to “being ‘knit together’ in the mother’s womb, the psalmist seems to describe God as a weaver who engages on the highly intricate, and artistic, endeavor of creating a unique and wonderfully made living being.” [3]

            How marvelous that each of us – whether parents, grandparents, siblings, great-aunts and -uncles, or dear friends of the parents – can stand by and observe these miracles that come into the world each day. What a privilege to welcome one of these little ones, and nurture and help it grow!

            Now, we need to turn from beloved babies, entering life as very much wanted members of the family (and of God’s family), and consider another sad possibility. Sadly, there are many, many babies and children who have unhappy childhoods, are not valued members of a family, and even know that they are not welcome in their homes – from a young age. This is heart-breaking, and happens much more often in this world, for any number of sad reasons.

            Rabbi Sharon Brous talks about a commentary written in the ninth century that “declares that every person is accompanied, at all times, by a procession of angels crying out, “Make way, for an image of the Holy One is approaching!” Every person, like royalty… How do we keep missing all those angels, with their trumpets and proclamations, desperate to rouse us to the dignity of every human being?” [4]

            What an earth-shaking concept! This is true not only for cute, adorable newborn babies, but also for all children. For tweens and teenagers (even if we are irked or frustrated with them). This is true for each adult, whoever and wherever they may be on their journey through life. And, this is true as well for each sick person and each senior I may encounter as a chaplain in my day-to-day travels to skilled nursing facilities and extended care centers.

            Rabbi Brous continues to reflect that this attitude “heightens the amazing and magnificent artistry of God’s creation. Indeed, this recognition becomes reason for praising God and affirming the self’s ultimate worth in the sight of God (v. 14).” [5]

            Indeed, we are all – each of us, every person in the world – fearfully and wonderfully made! Each person is accompanied, at all times, by a procession of angels crying out, “Make way, for an image of the Holy One is approaching!” That means every single person, in beautiful diversity, regardless of color, creed, cultural difference, language or nation of origin.

            We are celebrating our graduates today! Let us celebrate each other, too. In the words of the lovely children’s hymn “All things bright and beautiful, all creatures great and small, All things wise and wonderful, the Lord God made them all.” [6] God made you, me, and every single person in the world – all fearfully and wonderfully made. Alleluia, amen!

[1] http://www.theafricanamericanlectionary.org/PopupLectionaryReading.asp?LRID=27

[2] https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/second-sunday-after-epiphany-2/commentary-on-psalm-1391-6-13-18-3

[3] http://www.theafricanamericanlectionary.org/PopupLectionaryReading.asp?LRID=27

[4] Brous, Sharon, The Amen Effect: Ancient Wisdom to Mend Our Broken Hearts and World (New York: Avery, 2024), 53–54,

[5] Ibid.

[6] https://hymnary.org/text/each_little_flower_that_opens

@chaplaineliza

(Suggestion: visit me at my other blogs: matterofprayer: A Year of Everyday Prayers. and  A Year of Being Kind . Thanks!

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Recognizing Jesus

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“Recognizing Jesus”

Luke 24 road-to-emmaus-rembrandt

Luke 24:13-35 (24:16, 26) – April 26, 2020

Have you ever run into a good friend you haven’t seen for a while, and not recognized him or her? That is, at first? Exactly that happened to my son earlier this week, at a store near our house as he picked up a few things. He wore a mask—as is appropriate. About six or eight feet down the aisle was another young man, wearing a mask, too. The other man bumped something off the shelf and said, “Oh, no!” My son recognized his friend’s voice! But, the masks they were wearing kept them from recognizing each other—at first.

Something similar happened after the Resurrection, to two disciples. The two even heard the witness brought to them by the women disciples, that their Rabbi Jesus’s body was gone from the tomb! But, these two disciples couldn’t quite accept the women’s witness. (Apparently, the other men disciples had a hard time believing the women, too.) We don’t know why they decided to leave Jerusalem a few days after the crucifixion, but they did.

Perhaps the two disciples were nervous, or anxious. Their leader had just been arrested by the authorities and condemned to death! What if the authorities started rounding up the friends and associates of this radical, rabble-rousing Rabbi? Why else might they have left? All of the disciples were grieving. The loss of such a wise, strong, loving person like the Rabbi Jesus must have been devastating! And, different people have different reactions to grief—reactions all over the board, from anger to depression to desperate tears.

I think everyone is grieving right now. Who is not missing things from their life before the lockdown? What about school? School children miss their classmates, teachers miss their students, and parents miss the structured, ordered classes. What about adults who cannot go to work? What about closed businesses, blocked services, rules against close proximity, and—most of all—the lost income? The economic impact? What about the desperate isolation and loneliness some people experience now, with the widespread lockdown? Not to mention the grief of having loved ones in hospital and care centers, much less dying from serious illness?

These are just some of the losses and griefs countless people are experiencing right now!

Wasting no time, the two disciples hit the road early in the day, and who did they happen to meet? We know, since our Gospel writer Dr. Luke tells us: the resurrected Jesus Christ. The risen Stranger begins to walk with them, and they fall into deep conversation on the way about all that had happened in the past week or so in Jerusalem.

What about us, today? How much would you give to have Jesus take a walk with you and tell you all about Himself? What would it be like to hear about the witness of Scripture from the author of all that is holy, the Living Word, Himself?

Dr. Luke tells us that the two disciples were kept from recognizing Jesus during that whole journey from Jerusalem to the nearby town of Emmaus, about nine miles down that dusty road. Their eyes may have been closed through fear and anxiety, which certainly can cause a great deal of upset and disturbance inside. Trauma, too, which we now see as a very serious thing, indeed. The disciples might have been confused and off kilter. Death of a dear friend or loved one can do that to you! I know. I’ve experienced it. I suspect you have, too.

What about us? Is there anything keeping us from recognizing Jesus? We have already talked about grief, which is a huge thing in some people’s lives—especially now in this time of pandemic. But, other strong emotions can keep us in a fog. Living in a constant state of fear can disturb our thoughts and even our brain function. People who study the effects of trauma tell us so. What about confusion and bewilderment? Anger and frustration? All very valid reactions, and all very human feelings, too.

Any one of these can keep us from recognizing Jesus, and if two or three are going on at once, our distress is that much greater. Our distancing grows, and some even start walking away from Jesus. Believe me, it happens much more often than we realize.

I see Jesus being gentle and straightforward as He walks and talks with these two disciples. He lays out all the truths from the Hebrew Scriptures for these two men. We don’t know for sure, but they might have been like Thomas; we looked at him last week. These two disciples may have needed to hear the Truth from the ultimate Source of Truth, Himself.

At the end of our narrative, Jesus is finally revealed to the two friends at dinner. When Jesus takes and breaks the bread, the disciples see, recognize, and realize that it is indeed their Rabbi come back from the dead, the risen Christ sitting with them at the table.

And then—Jesus disappears! The two friends look at one another, saying, “What just happened?” “Was that truly Him? Really and truly?” They finally recognize Jesus for what He was. The encounter changed their lives. I wonder—when we recognize Jesus, does that encounter change our lives, too?

When we recognize Jesus—I mean, truly realize what He means in our lives—it cannot be just a casual greeting, a mild how-do-you-do and then we merrily continue on our way, without a thought more about Jesus and His Resurrection. Jesus means much more! We need to recognize all that He is, all that He means, and all that He offers freely. Resurrection! Life everlasting! And, Himself as our brother and best friend.

Praise God, Jesus can walk by our sides even now, through trouble, grief, pain, fear and anger. He has promised never to leave us nor forsake us, wherever we may journey in life. And, that is a sure and faithful promise from our resurrected Lord and Savior. Amen! Alleluia.

@chaplaineliza

(Suggestion: visit me at my regular blog for 2020: matterofprayer: A Year of Everyday Prayers. #PursuePEACE – and my other blog,  A Year of Being Kind . Thanks!