Today’s author is Naomi Sveholm. Naomi is a missionary with Central Europe Teachers (https://www.facebook.com/elcacet) teaching English at a bilingual Lutheran high school in Bratislava, Slovakia with her spouse and two children.
1 Samuel 16:1-13, Psalm 51:10-14
Dressed like a ragpicker, only a few faded hairs left on his bald skull and very few teeth in his mouth, huge buzzard wings dirty and half-plucked with parasites, the man sang sea chanteys and was delirious with tongue twisters.
Such is the subject of Gabriel Garcia Marquez’ “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings,” the first story we study in the Latin America-Caribbean literature unit at the bilingual high school where I teach in Bratislava, Slovakia. The story explores various reactions of the man and those around him, including a discussion of whether this ugly, unkempt, and indecipherable creature could actually be an angel because of his enormous, albeit smelly and parasitic, wings.
The first of this week’s biblical texts sees the prophet Samuel, disillusioned by the actions of King Saul, following God’s command to anoint the next king of Israel. He is directed to Jesse’s family and as each strong and handsome man is passed over, Samuel questions God’s judgement. God reminds Samuel that it is not the outward appearance that matters, but the heart. Eventually Jesse’s youngest son, David, likely a young teenager at the time, was anointed king, though he would not actually become king for over a decade.
The second text is a Psalm referenced in many liturgies: create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast (or right) spirit within me. It is a repentant plea from King David to restore him to grace and deliver him from his guilt.
Both texts focus on the internal, that part of ourselves that is not always evident in daily life. To God, the internal thoughts and intent are not only evident, but also meaningful. Just as David’s character and potential are seen, and seen honestly and completely, so too does God truly see us, strengths and flaws and all.
When we discussed Garcia Marquez’ story in class, an insightful student noted that we don’t know God’s mind or what beauty looks like in an angel. Indeed, Jews expected their messiah to be a king or at least a politician who would lead a revolution, but instead Jesus incarnated as a carpenter-servant who criticized the religious leaders and institution, interacted with and welcomed marginalized foreigners, tax collectors, and sex workers, then was killed. If Jesus could so completely subvert human expectations, who’s to say that an unflatteringly-described bald old man with enormous patchy buzzard wings isn’t the epitome of divine beauty? Or that a pure heart is not hidden by a rough exterior?
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit in me so I, too, can see beyond the outward appearance to the hearts of others.
Amen