REPRESENTATION
Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature] of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!
Philippians 2:6-8 (NIV)
We hear about it often lately – from actors and athletes, especially from politicians. People from every race, class, faith background want to see somebody that looks like them in roles. They want to feel as if there is a role model doing what they want to do, paving the way. When Sandra Day O’Connor was selected as Justice of the Supreme Court, girls who aspired to careers in the law saw a pathway open to them that they had never seen before. When Sarah Thomas became the first female NFL official, we heard all about it. She was hailed for representation, now a common theme as men and women make breakthroughs in different fields of endeavor. When John F. Kennedy became U. S. President, he was hailed as the first Catholic to hold that office
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We hear more and more about representation now than ever before. From Jackie Robinson to Supreme Court Justice Jackson, people of color are big on the idea of representation. We may forget that it is a very old idea. In the first chapter of John’s Gospel he tells us: “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” In Paul’s letter to the Philippians, quoted above, he makes it plain that God became a human being. God wanted us to see someone that looked like us, walked and talked like us, faced joy and adversity like us. God represented what it was like to be human in the ultimately best way possible. God wanted us to have a model for success in living life every day so that we would know how to do it in the very best way possible. More than that, God did for us what we are incapable of doing for ourselves. God, in human form, saved us from all of our human failings so that we could inherit Paradise. Now that’s representation! Praise the Lord!
Holy God, thank you for showing us how to live each day in humble obedience to your will for us. Help us to constantly learn from Jesus Christ, God in human form, our Teacher our Friend and our Redeemer. Amen.
Sue Uzelmeier
