“When we were children, we used to think that when we were grown-up we would no longer be vulnerable. But to grow up is to accept vulnerability....To be alive is to be vulnerable,” says Madeleine L’Engle.
Jesus seems to agree.
During Lent we follow Jesus and journey into the wildness of the wilderness and find the power of vulnerability.
“The word is near you, on your lips and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved. The scripture says, “No one who believes in him will be put to shame.”
For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him. For, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Romans 10:8b-13
If you are a sports fan or perhaps an athlete, you know the feeling that surfaces during those decisive moments when the game is on the line. Whether it is a last-minute field goal, a free throw after time has expired, or the last strike in the bottom of the ninth, it is in these pregnant moments of hope and expectation that we call out for help, bargaining with cosmic forces to swing the game our way.
Many of us live our lives in the same way, feeling that we are completely in charge until things hang in the balance. That’s when we start praying: “Please, God, help me! Please let me win the game,” or “Please let me get an A on this test.”
Of course, prayer does not really work that way. There are no winners or losers. God listens to both the winners and the losers. Prayer is primarily about owning our vulnerability.
Luke Fodor
Gracious God, thank you for the gift of vulnerability. Help me to accept it and learn to share my vulnerability with you and others. Amen.
May God the creator empower you to see your vulnerability as your source of strength, prompting you to reach out to the vulnerable and marginalized in your life.
May God the servant cultivate abundant love in you, allowing you to display your truest and most vulnerable self.
May God the comforter give you enough peace for you to share your insecurities and vulnerabilities with the world.