by Nick Popadich

Reading I: 1 Samuel 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13a
Reading II: Ephesians 5:8-14
GOSPEL: John 9:1, 6-9, 13-17, 34-38

I'm not Worthy

One of Dana Carvey's funniest characters on Saturday Night Live was Garth, Wayne's sidekick from the cable access show "Wayne's World". When Garth talked about meeting a famous rocker or babe, he would bow and wave his hands and say, "I'm not worthy." This Sunday's readings have many people saying the same thing. But leave it to God to have one "excellent" response to all of us "Garths" out here

Old Testament Garth - It's a Cinderella Story Really

The reading from Samuel has God being very much like Prince Charming. God is looking for someone with whom He can start a lifelong relationship. Samuel is sent with the proverbial glass slipper to try and find a king for God. He figures that surely the King of Israel will be someone like Elijah, but he is wrong. He searches and meets with all of the most likely candidates, but the "shoe just doesn't fit."

Samuel tells Jesse, "The Lord has not chosen any of these. Are these all the sons you have?" Ah but wait, young David is tending the sheep.

So it is the young boy that everyone overlooks that becomes the great king. This Old Testament Garth playing with sheep is the one God had searched for.

New Testament Garth - Eyes HAVE seen what God has ready

The New Testament Garth is the blind man whom Jesus makes whole. The people of Jesus' time saw this man's blindness as a result of sin. They even went so far as to say that the sins of the parents were being visited upon the son. Because of his affliction, the man was forced to sit by the road and beg.

Enter Jesus and his healing compassion. Now the blind man can see. When others wonder whether he truly is the same blind man they once knew, he said, "I am."

The phrase "I am" is a name often given to God. This is the name of the God of the Israelites that Moses led to freedom, and this is the name of the God who leads all to new life. The blind man's "I am" affirms the God-presence in himself. The man who was stripped of his dignity is now made to realize that he too is a vessel for the God of Life.

For the Pharisees, this is too much. God should punish sinners. God should not dwell in them and open their eyes to the truth. But God is with all -- the Garths of the world as well as the pious leaders. But the Pharisees would rather be blind to this idea than to accept that God doesn't follow their rules.

Garths Today -- I am worthy

Even today, some people prefer a God with strict guidelines. Sinners should be punished. The only way to have a deeper relationship with God is to be very religious. Humans are not worthy of God.

These are the types of thoughts that lead people to believe that AIDS is a punishment for homosexuals. These are the same thoughts that lead people to look at a pregnancy outside of marriage as a punishment for the fornicators. These are the same thoughts that lead people to believe that if they just appease God enough, that they will escape the pain of this world.

This simply is not true. God doesn't have time for all of this judging and neither should we.

In the end it is the ones we least expect that teach us the greatest lessons. For our lives to truly change we must become more like God and be God-bearers to others. As it says in the first reading from Samuel, "Not as man sees does God see, because man sees the appearance but the LORD looks into the heart."

Look into the heart. Look past the Garth exterior and see the being created in the likeness of God, within whom God resonates. Jesus told us, "Whatsoever you do to the least of my people, that you do unto me." We are worthy. We are worthy to be treated with the respect bestowed upon a king.

Life Applications:

Who are the Garths in your life? What stops you from seeing them as important members of the Body of Christ?

When have you felt like a Garth? What helped you move on?

How can you be a better God-bearer and let your light shine for all?

Copyright 2002 by Nick Popadich
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