Seen, Known, & Loved
Elaine Poproski Download: Audio
Scripture
Psalm 139:1 – 18, 23
O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. Read more…
1 Samuel 3:1 – 10
Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord under Eli. The word of the Lord was rare in those days; visions were not widespread. Read more…
John 1:43 – 49
The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” Read more…
Looking to Sunday
by Elaine Poproski
When I was in grade 9, I missed more than a month of school because of a weird medical thing. When my report card came out, one of my teachers had indicated 2 days of absences. My mom was infuriated, but it just confirmed what I’d already suspected for at least a few years: I was invisible – and not in the cool, superhero way; I was invisible in the I-don’t-matter way. The teen years sure are tough!
I used to have lunch every Monday with a small group of retired teachers when I lived in Simcoe. I admired and valued these women. They became some of my most important friends over the years I lived in that small town. They used to talk about being invisible. They’d talk about their experience as women-of-a-certain-age, ceasing to matter to the world at large, despite their experience and the expertise they had to offer the world.
I wonder, as this pandemic drags on and we continue to hide away in our apartments, condos, and houses with limited social interaction, how many of us are beginning to suspect that we might actually be invisible. I wonder if there are some among us who are losing sight (or maybe have already lost sight) of the truth that they matter – that they have worth and value.
On Sunday we’re beginning a focus on the theme of epiphany. You might recognize that word as referencing the day in the Christian calendar when we tell the story of the Wise Men who brought gifts to Jesus. But epiphany is more than a day in a calendar year. It speaks to the kind of new understanding or revelation that results in a dramatic shift in someone’s life. It’s like when the scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz discovers he’s wise and the tin man discovers he’s had a heart all along. Over the coming weeks we’re going to be invited into the possibility of our own epiphany regarding God’s character and our worth. This Sunday especially, we’ll be reminded, or perhaps discover for the first time, that we are not invisible to God – that God sees us, knows us, and loves us beyond what we can imagine.
As you prepare for Sunday, I invite you to spend some time reading Psalm 139. Read it out loud. Plug it into YouTube and let someone else read it to you or listen to any of a number of songs built around the Psalm 139 theme. Hear the truth of these words and let them sink deep into your psyche and your soul. Know that you are seen, you are known, and you are loved.