One of our readings this week is Psalm 139:1-4, that great song of praise to God for having made us and for knowing us literally inside and out. The Psalmist sings,

“O Lord, you have searched me and known me…
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.”

How fitting for our theme this week Created to be Authentic!

Being authentic is being our true self, acting on the outside according to our values and personhood on the inside. It’s the opposite of being phony or fake. Authenticity comes from gaining the awareness of who God made us to be and choosing to show up as that person. It’s liberating when we can do it. It’s oppressive when we get pushed into boxes that just don’t fit.

In the gospel Luke 10:38-42 we see what happens when Martha feels inauthentically banished to the kitchen while others sit at the feet of Jesus. Martha is like many people born in various times and places in history: To be born female means to act in socially acceptable, feminine ways, to take one’s place selflessly in the home. Of course, making a gracious, loving, and hospitable home is a wonderful gift. The problem comes when others think this is the only way society works, that she should bottle up her values and her true self. They say, “Just go along to get along.”

But somehow, that’s not authentic for her. She doesn’t give in or give up. She takes her complaint directly to the top, right to Jesus.

Fr. Richard Rohre reflects on her story this way, “Most of us were given the impression that we had to be totally selfless, and when we couldn’t achieve that, many of us gave up altogether. Martha needed to learn to harmonize and balance necessary self-care with a constant expansion beyond ourselves to loving others. This is brilliant! It’s both simple and elegant, showing us how to love our neighbor as our self. Imagining and working toward this harmony keeps us from seeking impossible, private, and heroic ideals. Now the possibility of love is potentially right in front of us and always concrete. Love is no longer a theory or a heroic ideal.”

That’s the essence of the problem – how can we possibly love God and love others if we are not authentic? Who would want a phony love?

The solution starts with our Psalm and knowing that God who made us, loves us – just as we are! When we grasp this, we can love ourselves as someone who is amazingly and wonderfully made – just as we are! That’s the foundation for embracing that we are all made in the image of God and worthy of each other’s love, welcome, and hospitality – just as we are!

I invite you to reflect on this during the week with a few starter questions.

  • Who in your past has helped you understand and be who you truly are?
  • What does it mean for you to hear that God loves you just as you are?
  • When was a time you encouraged someone else to be their authentic self?
  • What does it mean for you to hear that we are the image of God in the world?

As you reflect this week, let someone know that “to love God is to love what God loves, which is everything and everyone, including you and including me!” (H. Nouwen).