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Generally, we've come to believe we should extend this avoidance of vulnerability to our emotional and
spiritual selves. Culture presents vulnerability as a weakness, something wrong, a negative. To be vulnerable is to leave oneself ”exposed to
the possibility of being attacked or harmed" (OED). To be a vulnerable population
is to need special care or protection.
Yet, our
faith calls for us to be vulnerable. It invites to be completely open DESPITE
the risk of being hurt. It is this full openness that allows a deeper love to
enter and engage in our hearts, and in our relationships.
It's not
easy to be vulnerable, it depends on trust. And that trust is not something
that is to be taken lightly.
That trust
was extended to me several times this past week, as I had the privileged
opportunity to engage with a people at their most vulnerable. People
who wanted to connect with me as their priest, people who put their trust in me
to be especially careful and gentle with their emotional and spiritual selves. These people
were dealing with pain, hospitalisation, mental health concerns,
grief, transition, uncertainty: people dealing with the harsh realities of life.
Having been
gifted with the invitation and trust to accompany others in their most
vulnerable moments, and taking seriously that privilege and responsibility, I
was reminded of the value of connecting with one another through our exposed,
vulnerable moments.
Part of my
spiritual journey is the choice to open myself up to the same type of care and
affection that I hope I was able to give, and that I hope we are all willing to
receive from Jesus. After all, we know that this is the God who loved us so
much, and was so desperate to assure of us salvation instead of condemnation,
that God made manifest in human form to share in our vulnerability, to model
for us what vulnerable love is.
I know that
by making myself vulnerable, I am giving others the chance to hurt me. I have
been hurt in the past, I will likely be hurt in the future. However, by making
myself vulnerable, I am opening myself to the possibility of radical
hospitality, profound grace, and extreme love: the love of divine proportions. And
what love I have received, that I may have missed had my heart been hardened in
risk-avoidance.
Being
intentionally vulnerable is a risk, it's an act of faith, it's a
counter-cultural spiritual discipline. And it is entirely worthwhile,
especially when we remember who will always protect us, for our 'God of Power and Might' is also the 'God of Vulnerable Love.'*
*from a conversation with fellow theologian
*from a conversation with fellow theologian
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