BEING A CELEBRITY

Flicking through the pages of a magazine yesterday revealed nothing of great interest. But I was intrigued by the page of pictures of celebrities. I didn’t recognise any of them. It seems I’m out of touch. But what makes a person a ‘celebrity’? Someone who’s famous for outstanding achievement, a glamorous career, appearances on TV, their looks, their notoriety?

Are our judgement values a bit skew whiff? Do we elevate some people and put down others? I find God’s viewpoint more reassuring than our human viewpoint. He declared that he looks at what someone is like on the inside rather than their outward appearance. So he chose the youngest and least significant (to human eyes) member of a large family to be king.

Jesus praised babies and little children for their uninhibited joy and praise of God. He reprimanded his disciples who turned away mothers and children. “Let the children come to me…” he said. Not only has God got ‘the whole world in his hands;’ he also has ‘the tiny little baby in his hands.’

So who are the celebrities? ‘Blessed’ said Jesus’ are those who mourn, those who are humble, merciful, persecuted…’ How unexpected! Jesus declared that the first shall be last and the last shall be first. As that young lad who became king David wrote, God ‘put me together in my mother’s womb.’ You don’t have to be a celebrity to be special in God’s eyes.

And in case you’re having fun with the word ‘celebrity’, one of its anagrams would be ‘celery bit.’ And who wants to be a bit of celery?