Vulnerability

     My favorite movie is "His Girl Friday." Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell, what’s not to love? Grant’s and Russell’s characters are in the newspaper business. Russell gets the crazy idea that she wants instead a comfortable, quiet life instead of being a reporter.  But Grant has Russell pegged. He doesn’t force her to be something she is not but he does patiently help her to see that what she really loves is being a reporter and being with him. Jesus knew what was in man—our stupidity and wickedness—and yet he still invites us to the way to life.

  Our first question from our last Rector’s Forum on Original Nakedness was this:

In original nakedness, we see that the body—not just the soul—reflects the image of God. In the body, in a special way, we see certain attributes (such as vulnerability and openness to others). Where do we see these attributes in God? What other attributes do you see in your body? Can you trace them to God?

Here’s a couple ideas about this that maybe will spur others’.

     In friendship and marriage we become bodily dependent upon and vulnerable to others as Christ was dependent upon others. Jesus was dependent upon his friends, strangers, and even enemies in this world. He was dependent upon others when there was no “room in the inn,” when he was exiled to Egypt, when there was nowhere to lay his head, when he was deserted by his friends, and when he had no secure place to be buried. But through this he modeled trust in God’s abundant provision for us through one another, even our enemies.

     We also approach teaching with vulnerability. The Bereans are noted in Scripture for their attitude to Scripture and God. Acts 17:11:

Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. (ESV)

The Bereans were Jews who would have undoubtedly have had a hard time understanding how Jesus could have been their Messiah if He was crucified as Paul said. But what did they do? They first received the word with all eagerness. Then they looked to the Scriptures to see if these things were so. If we are not vulnerable and have a teachable spirit, embracing what is given to us, we will not be able to change and grow under God.

     My husband and I have a long-standing routine between us when we’re in an argument and both of us of course want to win. Rather than saying to each other, “You could be right…I could be wrong” we say, “Well…you could be wrong…I could be right.” It’s funny but it’s close to the truth—we don’t want to lose or acknowledge that the other might understand something about us that we don’t see ourselves.

     Theology of the Body teaches us that we are not supposed to be independent individuals. The Lord wishes to care for us bodily and teach us through each other but we can only hear him if we become vulnerable and humble enough. We may get hurt, but we have to trust God and others with our original uniquenesses. We all need to be saved. The question is whether we realize it or not.