Bishop Gruss: You and I are beloved daughters and sons of God

Greetings and blessings to all of you. Thanks for joining me for our second reflection on our journey through this season of Lent.

As you recall last week, we began reflecting upon our identity and the way we perceive our identity affects every choice we make, every thought we think, every stand we take, as well as our relationship with others. Who we believe we are colors everything we do.

I shared five statements from the late Father Henri Nouwen, who noted that all of them are lies and many of us believe or have believed them about ourselves. To briefly review these statements:

1) I am what I have.                                                

2) I am what I do.

3) I am what other people say or think of me.        

4) I am nothing more than my worst moment.

5) I am nothing less than my best moment.

Lie #2 I am what I do

This week I want to look at the second statement or the second lie. I am what I do.

Whether it’s a job, a title, a role, or a ministry, we often define ourselves by what we do. We define others in the same way. She is a doctor. He is an engineer. He is a lector. She is a Eucharistic minister. We may even introduce ourselves by what we do. But our true identity cannot be summed up in what we do, by any role we might have, nor by our function.

And what happens when our work, or ministry or other position changes? Or we lose our title or the ability to perform our role?  Who are you then?  Some people get all the way to retirement or to their death bed before they feel the sting of this lie. Because they feel they didn’t live up to their potential…and that perhaps, they failed. This is living the lie that “I am what I do.”

You and I are infinitely more than anything we could ever do or not do.

'God created man in his own image'

When was the last time you told someone that you were an icon of God?  What is an icon? A representation of someone or something sacred that reveals a deeper mystery.  Our faith teaches us that we have been created in God’s image and likeness. “And he said: Let us make man in our image and likeness. …. And God created man in his own image: in the image of God he created him: male and female he created them.” —Genesis 1:26-27

We are the crowning jewels of God’s creation, if you will.  If you and I have been created in God’s image and likeness, then we have been created to be an icon of God. Our lives in Jesus reveal this deeper mystery of humanity. We have been created in his image and likeness so that we might have union with him. Through baptism, we have been brought into the very life of God. Like Jesus, we too, have become his Beloved. Is that how you see yourself?

Francis of Assisi

Anything or anyone outside you cannot define your true self. Only God within you can do that. Francis of Assisi said, “I am who I am in the sight of God, nothing more, nothing less.”

In spite of the fall of Adam and Eve, which brought sin into the world, humanity continues to reflect the image of God. Yes, this reflection of his divine image in us has been blemished, yet not destroyed. Through Jesus, the truest image of the Invisible God, our sanctification renews God's image within us.

The world tells many lies about us, but the truth is we are a chosen child of God. What we do flows out of who we are, and not the other way around."

You and I are beloved daughters and sons of God

The core of our faith is the conviction that you and I are beloved daughters and sons of God. But one of the greatest spiritual tasks we have, is to live a life based on this truth.

We also must believe that we do not have to earn the Lord’s love. In fact, there is nothing we can do to earn it. He loves you perfectly because he has created you. Parents, you should know what this is like.

We may know the truth about who we are, but it is easy to fall back upon the old pattern of thinking and living a false identity. When we seek to live who we truly are, and not identify ourselves by what we do, then we find a new level of freedom and confidence. I would hope that we would want this.

In this next week, take some time with the Lord in prayer and reflect upon how you might have bought into the lie that “I am what I do.”  Ask Jesus to deepen in your heart the truth that you have been created in God’s image and likeness and are a beloved child of God.

Scriptures

Pray with Genesis 1: 26-27 – the creation story