I am not worthy.
Maybe not.
Maybe neither who I am nor what I have accomplished warrants or entitles me to much of anything.
Maybe not.
I know I am not worthy of the amazing wonders who are our four children. Sure, they drive us crazy and get on our very last nerve at times, but they also are brilliant and imaginative and kind and beautiful and faithful reflections of us. And they are, without a doubt, worthy of all it takes to raise, nurture, provide, keep safe, educate, discover, and empower their gifts to impact the world.
I often wrestle with how much Christian theology and verbiage perpetuates a sense of unworthiness of persons. If the world around us does not tell us we are insufficient and lack enough, we can always count on both traditional theology and kitschy modern worship songs to elevate how unworthy, broken, and despairing we are- we don’t deserve God’s grace, they write into their refrains.
Maybe not.
Or...maybe God does see us as worthy. Maybe God sees us as of even greater value than any theologian or lyricist has ever been able to put into words. Maybe God sees us not so much as broken but as beloved and beautiful, so much so that God would become one of us to aid us in uncovering the wonderful reflections of God’s very self that we are. Just maybe, or definitively, God sees us as worthy in same way a parent would speak of (or should) their own children. Maybe more so.
This #Advent, may we not only see God as worthy of our love, but also every person as worthy of God’s grace and embrace. After all, each of us could use a little more good news these days.