COLUMBUS DAY COMPLEXITIES by Pastor Rick Sams A “man of many sides,” like a multi-faceted diamond, would be one way of describing Christopher Columbus. In grade school I learned he was the first to discover the Americas. Even then conclusions on Columbus were complex and clouded by the exploits of a certain Viking named Leif Ericson. Now it’s the Chinese who are demanding a seat at the “founder’s table” (yahoonews 10/9/13). I talked to someone fresh from the western Caribbean who reported that Jamaicans object to the murals there showing Columbus “discovering” Jamaica. The Jamaicans rightly observed: “We were here first.” Depending on whom you’re talking to Columbus could be called a greedy land-grabber, a pioneer, or a saint. There are no shortages of “spins” on Columbus. But aren’t we all a kind of “kaleidoscope”? Depending on how we are turned we are seen differently--a blend of several “sides”? The sociologist’s tool called the “Johari window” depicts how each of us could be viewed as four window panes. The first pane is comprised of everything about us that is obvious to all. This is our “public self.” Pane two is the “private self” that only we see. Pane three is the window known only to others, which is oblivious to us. Pane four is the opaque pane--the part of us no one sees. This is known only to God: “O Lord, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar…you are familiar with all my ways…you knit me together in my mother’s womb…your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be” (Psalm 139:1-3, 13-16). It’s this part of us that psychologists claim as the culprit in causing most of our hurts, habits and hang-ups, as described by the Christian 12 step group called “Celebrate Recovery.” Most of us would confess we have opaque parts, which we, or others, cannot comprehend. Most of us admit it’s a source of significant pain. That’s why we must frequently repeat the prayer at the end of Psalm 139: “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way [of] everlasting [life]” (verses 23-24). Be very thankful that only God can see through our entire “window.” He’s The One who will do only good things for us with that sacred trust.
Posted on: Wed, 09 Oct 2013 21:05:05 +0000
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