Wonderfully Made
“I praise you, for I am wonderfully made.”
Psalm 139:14
Today we celebrate the birth of St. John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ, the herald of the Messiah. John the Baptist is the prophet that bridges the Old and New Testaments; he is the one that prepared the way of the Lord. John’s life and existence was not expected. His parents were old in age and did not plan to have any children, but God had other plans. God chose Elizabeth to bear the child who would be the first to leap in joy at the presence of the Son of God and who would devote his entire life in preparing for the mission of his cousin, Jesus Christ. In every way, John the Baptist was wonderfully made, and so are we.
The psalmist in today’s responsorial psalm gives praise and thanks to God for the gift of his life. He says that he is wonderfully made, and indeed he is. This beckons us to go all the way back to Genesis when we hear how God created male and female in His image and likeness and how that creation was “very good.” Brothers and sisters, we are wonderfully made. This is not saying that we are without sin or weaknesses or flaws, but that who we are, fundamentally and innately, is good and in fact, very good. Our sins and mistakes do not define us or lessens our worth or value. Our worth is rooted in something so much more than ourselves, it is rooted in someone; it is rooted in God. And God is unchanging and His love is unconditional and without limits. This means that no sin, no mistake, no weakness, and no brokenness can ever diminish our worth and value because that which our identity is rooted can never change. We are wonderfully made.
Brothers and sisters, sometimes it can be hard to accept that truth because our sins stir up within us guilt and shame. But I encourage you to bring those feelings to the Lord and know that even in our guilt and shame, God looks at us and sees only His beloved sons and daughters. May we bring our sins before the Lord today, encounter His powerful forgiveness in the sacrament, and proclaim boldly and loudly that we are wonderfully made.
