Known - Consecrated - Appointed

“Before I formed you in the womb 

I knew you,

and before you were born, 

I consecrated you;

I appointed you 

a prophet to the nations.”

- Jeremiah 1.4-5

The great sense of being known, being held in love, being desired is something we all seek as a sense of this approval and acceptance. We seek it in relationships, in our work and in our living. We sometimes seek it in false places and in ways as our hearts yearn to be known and seen and valued. Our world is not an easy place to encounter true validation for it wants to validate us based on gain for its purposes and false fronts. 

Our God on the other hand knows us intimately and although that may make us squirm a bit, this is a truth which is the true freedom of being known, consecrated and appointed. No need to masquerade behind tasks done, goals reached or images projected. God sees beyond all of this and knows who we are - our truest self - and how we are woven together with the very DNA of God. God knows us for God has formed us in the womb; we are flesh of flesh and bone of bone; we are heart of heart and soul of soul. God is infused into us. At times this may feel unknown or obscured. At other times it may be obvious and still at other times we may doubt. No matter the journey or the time, no matter how much we have been seeking or doubting, it is with deep love and mercy that our God always knows each one of us. 

God consecrates us because God is love. This consecration is declaring that we are valid, beloved, holy, appointed and worthy simply because of who we are in belonging to God. Our consecration is a declaration of our dignity, the gifts we possess, the breath we breathe and the light we shine because we are of God. 

Consecration can seem as a setting apart from. We should rather view it as a being connected to something greater. We are connected to the very Source of life and the love, mercy and graces that flow from this Source into who we are is our call to holiness. Our consecration is God declaring, “you are good, very good.” It is God claiming us again and again. It is God wiping our away sins and missteps. It is God appointing us as prophets, maybe not in the likes of Jeremiah or Isaiah, but rather in the way that each of us carry an important message of good news, because we are known. 

God, 
you speak my name
it echoes in the depths of who I am 
because you know me. 
You speak my name 
with dignity, worth and holiness 
because I am consecrated. 
You speak my name 
filling me with light and goodness 
because in you I come to know who I am. 
I praise you for this wonder 
as I carry your message 
into my living and being.
Amen.

Photo credit: Eyasu Etsub

Filled with Holy Spirit

Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country. He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by everyone.

When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:

‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.’ – Luke 4.14-21


Jesus, the Anointed One
brings us good news
in the little ways of life,
in his word penetrating our living,
in our connections with one another.

Jesus, the Chain Breaker
proclaims release to us
declaring our sins are forgiven,
embracing us with dignity
honoring our worthiness.

Jesus, the Sight Giver
opens our eyes
to hope each day,
to the power of love,
to discover his beauty.

Jesus, the Freedom Architect
releases us from what is oppressive
with his endless mercy,
with his gentle peace,
with his life, death and resurrection.

Jesus, the Celebrating One
proclaims God’s favour in our lives
each day,
in all ways, 
with much delight.

The Spirit of the Lord was indeed upon Jesus
and he has infused this Spirit in our living
calling us beloved,
showing us authentic living,
guiding us in relationship with God.

The power of the Spirit indeed filled Jesus
and is filling each of us;
let us be attentive to the promptings,
allowing holy wisdom to speak
so that in turn we move and act with the Spirit. 

Jesus,

“filled with the power of the Holy Spirit”

help us to see that we too 

are filled with your Spirit

for we are vessels of you

bearing good news,

living freely in you,

seeing with clear vision,

releasing our burdens,

proclaiming your goodness and mercy

all the days of our life.

Amen.

Photo Credit: Hasan Almasi

Marvellous Works

   The New Year has quickly taken off. We may still be relishing in the days of cheer of Christmas past. We may be stumbling through how to move forward with goals or resolutions. We may be stuck in a snow drift of uncertainty. We may be sailing along and embracing each day. Regardless of where we are at this midpoint of the first month of 2022 God continues to be present and God's message of hope and love remains.

   Psalm 96 says: “Declare the marvellous works of the Lord among the peoples.”

Have we taken the time to declare the marvellous works of this past week? Maybe it was a sunset, a connection with a friend, a delicious cup of tea, a kind neighbour, laughter shared or maybe it was a transformed heart or a fresh insight. No matter what it was, the marvellous works of God seem to come in small ways so that we can take in and begin to comprehend how marvellous God's love truly is.

 

   Each day marvellous works of the Lord take place. Pausing at the end of the day to recall which one touched us is a practice we can carry into the weeks that will become the rest of 2022. It will only encourage our connection with God and will loosen our tongues to declare the many marvellous works of the Lord even if only to ourselves. It will indeed increase our gratitude quota for the year. God delights over us so very much and so often we allow this delight to slip by us; maybe unaware, maybe too busy, or maybe not open to it, regardless, God continues to delight.

   The prophet Isaiah says, “You shall be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will give… you shall be a crown of beauty… a royal diadem… you shall be called My Delight… for the Lord delights in you… God rejoices over you” (62.1-5). Is this alone not enough to declare as marvellous? Is this not the gift given to us each day? Our God madly in love with us, calling us to life, calling us to let go of the destructive ways and the lures of the world. Our God declaring the marvellous works of creation, the creation of us as delightful, beautiful, royal and worth rejoicing over. In other words, Beloved. Called by a new name: Beloved. Rejoicing over us because we are beloved.

   Nothing can beat the marvellous goodness of God's love and the hope it instills in us. We must keep our eyes fixed on our God and the One whom God sent to us. The One who lifts us up in his marvellous love and redeems us and declares the delight and belovedness which is inherently ours from the beginning of time. Our God and our Savior gift us with the Spirit who activates in us gifts – a variety of gifts which we are reminded of in the first letter to the Corinthians. These gifts are expressed and shared uniquely by each one of us, manifesting the goodness of God and the goodness of each other, which in turn causes even more declaring of the marvellous works of our God. God's glory and love and delight is revealed in our lives. As Saint Irenaeus said: “The glory of God is the person fully alive, but the life of humanity is the vision of God.” Again, a reminder that we are beloved. In little ways God's glory is revealed and this is grace upon for grace for us. Let us not lose sight of this as we continue the journey of 2022.

 

God of the Journey,

you delight in us,

call us beloved

and walk with us all the days of our life.

As we continue to walk into 2022

may our hearts be awakened

to your marvellous works

which are present each day

in both the grand and in the small.

May we continue to share our gifts

so that goodness may abound

for all people.

May we continue to fix our eyes

on you and the glory of your life

in this journey.

Amen.

 

Photos: MJP