0.2 milligrams of gold

James Cathcart January 07, 2021 0 0

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Psalm 72: 14 (NRSVA)

14 From oppression and violence he redeems their life;
    and precious is their blood in his sight.

Our human physical, skin and bones lives are valued, cherished, and treasured by Jesus our King. We are not abstract to Jesus. We matter.

We don’t just have value as a whole humanity — each individual person matters too. For humanity gets its worth through the God-given dignity and value of each unique person joined together. We are all tied up in each other — each distinct but each linked. To be a person is to be a catalogue of other people — other genes, other stories, other expressions, other songs, other heartbeats.

Our blood contains approximately 0.2 milligrams of gold. That tiny fragment of amount of Gold isn’t worth much but the glint of it is an artistic flourish that points to the innate value of human life. As we considered last week — most of the elements that make up the human body originated from stars. Now we are reminded that we have a dash of gold dust too.

Somehow despite these clues we have created a global economy that doesn’t value human life as especially precious. Where the cost of cheap consumer goods is paid in blood. Precious blood, sweat and tears — forged in stars and sprinkled with gold though it is.


PRAYER:

Dear Jesus,
Help us to follow your example
in valuing the flesh and blood
skin and bones
spit and tears
of others.
To rediscover how precious and interwoven
each
life
is.
Amen.