Then Surely You Are
My Dear People,
"His baldness was a disfigurement which his enemies harped upon, much to his exasperation; but he used to comb the thin strands of hair forward from [the top of his head]."
Who does this describe? No, not your rector!
It describes, amazingly, Julius Caesar, the man from whom countless "manly men," emperors and kings, have taken their title, "Caesar," "Kaiser," "Czar," etc. The Roman historian Suetonius left us this description of the first Caesar of Rome. Suetonius continues, "Of all the honors voted him by the Senate and the people, none pleased him so much as the privilege of wearing a laurel wreath on all occasions--he constantly took advantage of it." (The laurel wreath was a sign of victory and strength.) In other words, not only did Julius Caesar wear a "comb-over," every chance he got he covered it all up with a pile o' twigs!
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Now, why am I telling you this? (Always a fair question.) Well, yes, it has something to do with the fact that your rector has a hairline similar to Caesar. (Hmm.) But the more important reason is that you and I have at least one (other) thing in common with the Emperor: we too are tempted to be someone we are not, tempted and tempted daily to be someone other than who we really are.
Julius Caesar wanted to be Julius-Caesar-with-hair. And maybe Julius-Casear-with-hair-and-bigger-pecs (pectoral muscles), for all we know. And maybe Julius-Casear-with-hair-and-bigger-pecs-and...the list may well have gone on.
Who do you want to be? Yourself with ten less years? Yourself with $25,000 of additional discretionary spending money? Yourself without a divorce? Yourself only funnier and less self-conscious? Yourself only...? And who do I want to be? Myself with hair? Myself with hair and bigger pecs? Myself only with...?
Do I want to be myself? Do you want to be yourself?
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In the Hassidic (Jewish mystical) tradition, there is the story of Rabbi Zusya, who said, "In the coming world, they will not ask me: 'Why were you not Moses?' They will ask me: 'Why were you not Zusya?'"
We have heard said, or perhaps (ugh) said ourselves, such-and-such thinks she's (he's) "God's gift to the world." Well, that's just it. We are God's gift to the world.
Now, needless to say, the last thing God wants is for us to take credit for his gift, for us to be proud and self-satisfied. God does, however, want us to cherish the gift of ourselves, the gift that each of us is. God wants us to cherish the gift of ourselves just, of course, as we are to cherish the gift that God gives in each and every one of us, his children.
God loves you just as you are, with no qualifiers whatsoever. And, if God finds you lovable, then surely you are.
Your brother in Christ,
Wallace+
