By Mike Lamb
On Saturday, April 18, I was on a half-day retreat with lay and ordained ministers in Sauk Centre. I have gathered with this group of people most years to share a moment to reconnect with what it means to be a minister in the Church. My ministry happens to be that of chaplain, but others serve as volunteers within the parish, pastoral associates and ordained ministry. It is always a chance to refresh and feed my soul.
The diocesan Social Concerns Office gifted us with a time of reflection and asked us to imagine how we are “Made in the Image of God: Seeing Ourselves and Others as the Body of Christ.”
In Genesis 1:27 we read, “God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them”. When I did my chaplaincy training, I embraced this reading. It became a core principle of my work. A few years later, I felt compelled to offer up a reflection on the subject. It went something like this:
Once upon a time, I took part in the musical production of Shrek at a local community theatre. I was cast in the very small yet very green role of Papa Ogre. As I stood in an oversized fairy tale book with Mama Ogre and seven-year-old Shrek, I heard each night from the pair, “Remember you are an ogre, Be an ogre.”
As the swamp fairy opened our book, I stepped out trying to embrace that image of Papa Ogre. Some nights I was that ogre and other nights I was simply a big guy with a green face. What was it about embracing the image of Papa Ogre that was so evasive to me? It wasn’t that I didn’t know my part, I did know it. It wasn’t that I was nervous to sing in front of people, I wasn’t. I had led my parish in song for many years. It was perhaps all the distractions internally and externally that prevented me from being that ogre within.
Genesis has a very different image which we are called to embrace, not only in ourselves but in those around us. Genesis tells us that we are each created in the image of God. When I find myself embracing that truth, I can accomplish much. The image of God within me allows for greater awareness of my own dignity and authority which is to be shared with the world. When I take this understanding further and see the image of God in those around me, I gain a greater sense of reverence for each individual regardless of their background or current situation.
When I am at my best, I see the image of God in myself and those around me. When I become distracted by sin, pride or self-centeredness, I lose something. I lose that image of who I was created to be.
Mike Lamb is chaplain at the Minnesota Correctional Facility in St. Cloud and is a member of Seven Dolors parish in Albany.