January 13, 2009
Dear St. Paul’s Family,
In 1994, I decided that a career in medicine was not for me.
The realization began in the spring of my senior year of college. In order to graduate with a degree in Biology/Pre-med, I had to complete both the written and oral portions of my comprehensive examinations. The oral exam took place in the biology lab, with four of my professors peppering me with questions to test my aptitude in the field.
I was doomed from the first question. One of them asked me, “What are the two main categories of animal life?” Now anybody who has ever taken Introduction to Biology, even in high school, could tell you that the fundamental distinction is between the prokaryotes (one-celled organisms that have no nucleus, like bacteria) and eukaryotes (multi-celled animals that have a nucleus, DNA, and cell membranes.) But not this biology major.
After what seemed like an eternal amount of silent puzzling, I finally said, “I think the two main kinds of animals are those with a soul and those without a soul.”
I have never since seen such deflated, dejected looks as those that were on the faces of my professors at that moment. One was looking down, shaking his head. Another just stared at me, blinkless, wondering if he had heard me correctly. Still another seemed to mutter “we are failures as teachers” under his breath. It’s still a wonder that they even passed me.
There’s no defending my response from a biological perspective. But from a theological point of view, my answer does seem to tap into the sense of awe, mystery, and reverence echoed by the Psalmist:
For it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; that I know very well. (Psalm 139:14)
Certainly, the Psalmist could not have known about the amazing complexities of cellular processes and DNA. But he did have a keen awareness of how miraculous life is, and who made it that way.
Reading Psalm 139 can be an effective antidote to those moments when, in forgetting who we really are, we are prone to bouts of hopelessness, loneliness, and gloom. I am reminded of the beautiful, haunting poem called “Who am I?” penned by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German Lutheran pastor martyred by the Nazi regime. While in a jail cell awaiting his execution, he asked that which we have all asked at one point in our lives. I’ve included the whole poem here; making it to the end and discovering his conclusion is well worth the read:
Who am I? They often tell me
I stepped from my cell’s confinement
Calmly, cheerfully, firmly,
Like a squire from his country-house.
Who am I? They often tell me
I used to speak to my warders
Freely and friendly and clearly,
As though it were mine to command.
Who am I? They also tell me
I bore the days of misfortune
Equally, smilingly, proudly,
Like one accustomed to win.
Am I then really all that which other men tell of?
Or am I only what I myself know of myself?
Restless and longing and sick, like a bird in a cage,
Struggling for breath, as though hands were compressing my throat,
Yearning for colors, for flowers, for the voices of birds,
Thirsting for words of kindness, for neighborliness,
Tossing in expectation of great events,
Powerlessly trembling for friends at an infinite distance,
Weary and empty at praying, at thinking, at making,
Faint, and ready to say farewell to it all?
Who am I? This or the other?
Am I one person today and tomorrow another?
Am I both at once? A hypocrite before others,
And before myself a contemptibly woebegone weakling?
Or is something within me still like a beaten army,
Fleeing in disorder from victory already achieved?
Who am I? They mock me, these lonely questions of mine.
Whoever I am, Thou knowest, 0 God, I am Thine!
Here’s the honest truth: you are more than just a collection of biochemical reactions, or micro-cellular processes. You are the living, breathing, embodiment of God’s image on earth, a uniquely fashioned creature crafted by a loving Creator, “fearfully and wonderfully made.”
And don’t you forget it.
Join us this Sunday as we continue in our “Life’s Three Big Questions” series with a sermon titled, “Who Am I? Fearfully and Wonderfully Made.” If you have ever wondered who you really are, or need a friendly reminder of to Whom you belong, don’t miss this important service. And, as always, this would be a great opportunity to invite an unchurched friend or loved one with you to church.
Grace and Peace,
Magrey
The Rev. Magrey R. deVega
St. Paul's United Methodist Church
531 W. Main St.
Cherokee, IA 51012
Ph: 712-225-3955
http://www.cherokeespumc.org
Psalm 139:13-18
13 For it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works;
that I know very well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes beheld my unformed substance. In your book were written all the days that were formed for me, when none of them as yet existed.
17 How weighty to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!
18 I try to count them—they are more than the sand; I come to the end—I am still with you.
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