Only the Vulnerable Need Apply
We are wired to be connected to others. The story of creation in Genesis is a story of a God who is connected with people and people who are supposed to be connected with one another. Sin breaks connection. Our response to sin, whether it be what we have done or what others have done to us or to others, can either be to embrace and accept it and admit it hurts or we can try to ignore, grow callous toward, hide from and attempt to separate it from us. Just as Adam and Eve did we hide, use blame, and we tell lies. We may even go to war in order to not accept our own fallibleness as Cain did against Abel thinking that killing those that know our imperfection might mysteriously remove it from reality. In an effort to be perceived as whole, complete, and strong we utilize force, either physical or psychological as in making rules, to protect our image. This sad thing is that the image we protect is, in fact, a false image.
God, on the other hand, is vulnerable. The fact that he places the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil in the Garden of Eden in the first place is evidence of God’s willingness to be vulnerable. God loves Adam and Eve and then gives them the opportunity to reject, rebel, and injure Him. This vulnerability extends to Jesus and the Cross and beyond in the invitation He gives us to believe.
God’s example of vulnerability is extremely vital for us because the lie we tend to live is that we need to protect ourselves from allowing the truth about who we really are to be exposed. To allow others to see us as the abuser, the abused, the fornicator, the addict, the murderer, the adulterer, the gossip…the broken is seen by the vast majority of people as weakness. Yet if God is God, and He is the epitomy of strength, then being vulnerable and actually inviting the experience of pain and loss should be seen as experiences that lead to strength.
Just think of things that make you feel vulnerable. For me, asking anything of anyone makes me feel vulnerable. As a kid inviting someone to come over used to cripple me with anxiety and when rejection came I would dive deeply into a sea of self pity. I hate it yet I know from God’s example in the Bible that I must be vulnerable. The Church, then in my opinion, should be a gathering of people that doesn’t just allow vulnerability, but demands it. It requires it’s people to invite others to be connected to them and to be confident in the fact that Christ is enough.
In this 20 minute talk, while she doesn’t mention God or the Church, Brene Brown does reveal some biblical truths about what it means to be healthy people. I strongly encourage you to take the time to watch it. Her conclusion falls a little short in my mind as it should be “Jesus is enough,” but everything leading up to her conclusion is an accurate portrayal of our plight as people. For those who have taken the Redemption class her words should ring true. For those who haven’t – this is the kind of stuff we will explore.
Connections
One of the most appealing thoughts in Eastern Religion that is often lost on the Western Christian is the connection we have with all of reality. With our personal relationship with God that involves us owning our own Bible and having personal quiet times, prayer times, and study times and with the variety and convenience of churches we can go where we want when we want to worship how we want and so much of this religion that we practice is about us, individually. In an effort to fight against the heretical idea of pantheism we allow monotheism to become defined in our own lives as “God is disconnected and so are we.”
We very seldom think in terms like, “I must read scripture and contemplate its meaning so that my wife might have a good day, or so that my co-workers might be able to do their job better, or so the person I smile at as they wait for their bus might think that someone cares.”
One of the reasons I love the movie Crash is that it reveals the reality that we do nothing in isolation, but everything we think and do has consequences for someone else. In this short talk we discover the connection between plastic and the poor. How should these facts impact you as you make your next consumption choice?
Dust – both dirty and delightful
There is much of my life that has disappeared over the years. One moment it was there and then the next it just crumbled into a pile of dust. Some of it I destroyed intentionally, some unintentionally, and some just happened without any effort or neglect on my part.
Living in a sin infected world, and being myself infected with this disease of rebellion, dust piles lie all around us and in and around the lives of everyone we meet. 2010 leaves numerous piles in my life. I have a choice to either be overwhelmed at the mess or live in anticipation of what the Beauty Maker might make to rise up out of it. While I am tempted to live in despair I strive to live in wonder as I wait to see the Potter add water to my dust and begin to mold and make something new. This is what Advent is all about.
In the most dirty and desperate of environments, the Stable, the most splendid and pure living being, Jesus, arrived. And the lives of the despised and dejected have never been the same. I will miss those people, especially Mom and Grandpa, and ideas and things that used to be, but today I look forward to something beautiful becoming of their departure, because in Jesus I can.
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