Albert Einstein and Earwigs: Psalm 139 and John 1: 43ff

 This morning I have a warm fuzzy feeling! The reading from Psalm 139 and the choosing of Nathanael in the Gospel, fondly remind me of my high school locker and my first university dorm room. I had two magazine cut-outs each glued to a piece of poster board and displayed on the inside of my locker door, and later, on the bulletin board in my residence room.

 

The first was a black and white picture of the face and head of a sculpture of Albert Einstein. Einstein had a quizzical look on his face, surrounded by wily hair, and great movement in the texture of the skin made of clay. The magazine caption read: how weighty to me are your thoughts, O God! Of course, this caption is quoting Psalm 139: 17. I posted this picture in my locker because it was a constant reminder of my outlook on life and learning; the whole point of school – the joy of wonder and discovery, the pleasure of figuring things out and being awed in the process; the continued pursuit and journey that would never end. To think that God created us this way. I love that feeling of being fascinated and confounded at the same time. And did I ever love questioning and debating, philosophizing and exploring other peoples’ thoughts; and considering God’s thoughts.

 

The other magazine picture was a colourful cartoonish drawing of three earwigs (which is a kind of insect), hanging out in a rutabaga garden. One earwig relaxed under the rutabaga tops, leaning against the stem of a plant. Another nibbled the exposed top of a rutabaga, and the other was just there chatting it up – Three earwig buddies. The earwigs in the picture make me think of Nathanael. Nathanael is minding his own business, or so I like to think, relaxing in the shade of a fig tree; hanging out with whoever else was there. Philip comes up to him and invites him to come meet the Messiah. Nathanael skeptically says, can anything good come out of Nazareth? Although skeptical, Nathanael is curious, so goes with Philip to meet Jesus.

 

Earwigs are one of the most hated insects, not because they pose harm to humans, but because of their nature – how they look, how they congregate. Now you might be skeptical, upon hearing that earwigs are the best defender of your garden spaces – although they might nibble on flowering plants or gnaw into vegetables, they are the insect that keeps other creature populations in check because they have a voracious appetite for slug eggs; aphid, mite, and other insect larvae; they will even eat other insects. They are the scavengers of decaying material. And yet, having these gifts, they are not a beloved creature to human beings.

 

I particularly liked the magazine picture of the earwigs – and hung it in my locker- because they had the best expressions on their faces! They were joyful and playful. I had all kinds of ideas about what they were doing and talking about. And the picture made a despised creature, adorable – an outsider given worth and gifts and joy- what high school student doesn’t relate to this; feeling like the ugly, the left out, the tread-upon– and wanting to belong, to have joy, and to not be despised or picked on.

In some ways, I consider the disciples to be a congregation of earwigs.

Today we hear of Nathanael and his skepticism; but what of the others- we read of Levi the tax collector (ie. traitor), Peter the denier, Judas the betrayer, Thomas the doubter, Simon the Zealot, James and John with fanatical tendencies, Philip (later on) lacking trust; as a whole group they were terrified on the lake, couldn’t keep awake and pray, presented a consistent lack of understanding, and fled the scene- abandoning Jesus on the eve of his arrest. And despite all this ---- their earwig-ness---- those pieces of themselves that were less than stellar, their weaknesses, their human flaws, their ugliness----- none of this stopped Jesus from calling them to be disciples, and to be about God’s work.

 

Nathanael whom Jesus sees before calling him to be a disciple, hears Nathanael questioning, can anything good come out of Nazareth? -which is really a holy-than-thou attitude and an expressed distain for a neighbouring conservative community outside of the city of Jerusalem where all the important stuff happened. On top of this, God having knit together Nathanael’s inward parts, knew him deeply, skepticism and all.  In this Jesus story, it is okay that Nathanael is this way, the skeptic is welcome – in fact chosen to be a beloved disciple.

 

Over the past few years at church council meetings, on our wall murals, in other groups I have asked the congregation to complete the sentence: You know what I love about this church…

My answer this morning is this: You know what I love about this church, I appreciate being fully welcomed, as me; along with my questions, skepticism, earwig-ness (yes, the bits of myself that are weird and quirky). I love that I hear a Gospel where God calls individuals as they are, to do great things within a community. I love that God embraces human weaknesses and works with them; works with and through us.

 

Later this morning in confirmation class we are taking a journey through an historical timeline starting in the 850s, following the lives of selected Christians who were…well… earwiggy. These are faithful Christians who were delightfully weird – not like others of their times. These were people called by God – chosen to be disciples, even thought, they were people who were skeptics, asked questions, pondered how weighty are God’s thoughts and if anything good could come from Nazareth. This group of people are remembered for various reasons: whether martyr, bishop, hymn writer, renewer of society, reformer – all applied the Gospel to daily living and life, being active theologians in asking questions to understand God, faith, and what that meant on the ground.

What the confirmation class will notice is that not all these figures had the exact same beliefs, that from one generation to the next different questions were asked because the world was a different place, so too each generation had and has their own understanding of God, and what faithful living is. What the class will learn is that although not the same, the continued asking of questions, continues a tradition of the challenging and reforming of church and disciples’ beliefs. – our beliefs.

 

The season of Epiphany began with Jesus’ baptism, Pastor Adam our guest preacher last week, reminded us over and over that God, in baptism, calls each one beloved. You are beloved. I am beloved. We are beloved!

The season after Epiphany continues with the calling of Nathanael – a skeptic- to be a chosen disciple.

 

You know what I love about this church, I can be who God created me to be and know that I am beloved  – even though I am weird, messy, weak, and unique; and I can ask, or rather am encouraged to be skeptical, ask my questions, to ponder God’s thoughts, and I will be included, called, and chosen -with all the other adorable earwigs that make up a congregation.

 

Those two pictures, Albert Einstein and the three earwigs, were taped up in my locker because they represented who I was and who I aspired to be. They were personal affirmations and mantras in picture form. They reminded me that I am beloved.  I am called. I am wonderfully made. I am chosen. I can ask questions and be skeptical. I can be me. I can be earwiggy -different than the world around me, and that is okay.

And with delight and joy, playfully consider and wrestle with the thought and question

 – How weighty are your thoughts O God! And can anything good come out of Nazareth?