[Jesus said,] “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower. He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and everyone that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit. You are already pruned because of the word that I spoke to you. Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing. ”

"You’re insecure, don’t know what for, you’re turning heads when you walk through the door, don’t need make-up to cover up. Being the way that you are is enough. Everyone else in the room can see it; everyone else but you. You light up my world like nobody else, but when you smile at the ground, it ain't hard to tell: you don’t know you’re beautiful. If only you saw what I can see. You don’t know you’re beautiful. That’s what makes you beautiful."   

There is no place in the Gospels that refers to the physical beauty of another human being. Consequently when Christians look to Jesus as a pattern for life, they must look for his thought about physical beauty from conclusions of his thinking in other situations. In John's Gospel, it is clear that Jesus is God, and when Jesus tells us that we are all connected to him as branches to a vine, then we are all connected to God. Being connected to God is a statement of beauty, not physical beauty as such, but what might be called "philosophical beauty" that includes every kind of beauty. It is what makes us all beautiful.

The topic of One Direction's song is physical beauty, of course, and according to the man, the woman in the relationship does not think that she has the beauty that she would like to have. It is a common enough problem in our world for both men and women. Our media has made the physical beauty to be something of major importance in the selection of a future partner for marriage. From a Christian point of view, the fact is that every one of us is beautiful because of our connection with God.

Perhaps, like the lady in the song, we do not know that we are beautiful. Since we are all beautiful in God's eyes, we really do not have to use all of the physical aids that have been produced to make us "more beautiful." We may have to be concerned about the way we look from a healthy point of view, but the preoccupation which our world gives to whether or not we look good is entirely unnecessary. As One Direction sings in their song, the one particular woman in the relationship and indeed all people do not need "makeup" when they are already beautiful.

Our challenge is to believe it. Because our advertisements in the world talk of being "more beautiful," they imply that some of us are not beautiful enough. Simply put, yes, we are--every one of us. Physical beauty is part of philosophical beauty, and because of our connection to God, we have it automatically. Our concern must not be so much about what makes us beautiful on the outside; it should be what makes us beautiful on the inside by being aware of our God a little more.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, you have created us to be beautiful human creatures, connected to you through your Son. Give us the grace to understand our own beauty and the beauty of others. Be with us, we pray. 

Questions, comments? Let me know. Email Fr. Mike

©2007 Capuchin Province of Mid-America
Fr. Mike Scully is a member of the Capuchin Province of Mid-America