It’s You I Like
Grace and peace to you all!
So -the Gospel of Mr. Rogers. Many of us grew up watching him every afternoon, engaging each of us in the life of his neighborhood as well as the Land of Make Believe (on of my favorites). 2018 is the 50th anniversary of the start of the show. The grace filled messages we witnessed were designed to help us grow in understanding who we are and who are neighbors and helpers are.
This week, our theme is “It’s You I Like” There is not a model for how a faithful person should be physically. We learn throughout the bible that one should love God and love one another with all their heart, soul, and mind. Unfortunately, as humans, we tend to avoid folks that don’t look like, sound like, smell like, or act like we do. It’s apparent in the -isms we suffer from – and the divisions within our own neighborhoods. Jesus told the Pharisees that it’s not things on the outside that make us different – but what comes from within. Mr. Rogers encounters a young boy who has physical limitations – and has a hard time getting to know other people. Mr. Rogers also sings a song, more than once in the show’s run, called “It’s You I Like” The first tells us:
It’s not the things you wear,
It’s not the way you do your hair
But it’s you I like
The way you are right now,
The way down deep inside you
This is a message that we all need, right now. Please join us as we discover how to accept ourselves as beloved and liked just as we are.