Can you hear Oprah saying: You get a car! You get a car! I can’t help but hear her voice and enthusiasm when I think about who gets a crown. You get a crown! You get a crown! You can hear it, right?!
Who gets a crown? Everyone does, because each of us is a child of God.
This crown has less to do with us and is more about who God Is. It’s a great image of the dignity inherent in our creation. It’s a crown bought and paid for by Jesus’s Life, Death and Resurrection and was given to us at our baptism. As children of the King, we have identity, purpose and a mission. We have a crown.
A while ago,. I wrote a blog about a penance a priest once gave me. This little penance was so simple, but with grace and time, it’s been super fruitful and continues to shed light on my crown.
God is my God, and I am His daughter.
First, this little penance tells me who I am. It’s the source and foundation of my identity. As a child of God, I have a family. I have a home. I belong. A deep sense of security and peace flow from this simple truth. When things in life change in unexpected ways, this foundation never changes because I have nothing to do with it. The source of this identity is in He Who Is. It’s why I have a crown.
Second, it gives me a purpose. As a child of God, I’ve been made in His image and likeness and am unique among all of His creation. (We all are!) Like any good parent, God wants his kids to grow! This penance reminds me to continue growing – to cooperate with His grace to grow in prayer, virtue, and discernment. This process buffs out all the scuffs and scratches from my crown.
Third, my penance prayer calls me to mission – to discipleship. Thanks to Jesus, the firstborn of God’s children, we have an excellent example of what a child of God should be, should do, and how to do it. His entire life was about giving glory to the Father and the redemption of souls. The mission of a child of God follows the same path. Though some are called to prophecy, to teach, to build, to heal, to littleness, or a hidden life, each of our crowns is lit by the Light of Christ.
So, let’s take that crown, polish it up until it glimmers, and let His light shine!
