Nativity Vulnerability
The lesson of Christmas that is most difficult for me to accept is that God accomplishes his purposes through human vulnerability. I so badly wish this weren’t the case, but that’s the primary takeaway that I have when I consider the story of the birth of Jesus to Mary and Joseph. I am overwhelmed by the weakness and vulnerability of God’s plan.
At the heart of this plan is the simple act of arrival. He comes to Mary, an unwed teenage girl. He comes to Joseph a young man who was likely scared and confused. Their lives were already vulnerable, and God’s involvement undoubtedly exacerbated things. His arrival subjected them to feelings of shame, social rejection, and all the fear that comes when life feels out of control.
But instead of that vulnerability being a problem to solve, it seems like the exact context where God chooses to do his work. I’ve noticed this in my life too. God’s plan often involves simple arrival. He comes to dwell with us in our vulnerable life. He doesn’t need us to be any way other than we are. He isn’t anxious about getting a bunch of things done. He simply inhabits our life with us in the same way he did at the first Christmas.
While I’m grateful for God’s presence, I wish his coming to me meant he would save me out of the things in my life that I dislike. I wish that partnering with God in his mission to save the world meant I was given superhuman power to fix the things that are broken around me. I wish that listening to God’s voice meant that he would guide me around the difficult obstacles I face. I wish that having God in my life made me impervious to insults, criticisms and rejection. But that’s not what I’ve found. When I feel vulnerable, I notice God’s presence with me, and he doesn’t seem to be uncomfortable with vulnerability the way I am.
That’s the other thing I notice about the Christmas story. God seems to delight in vulnerability. His arrival appears so reckless, so exposed to harm. But this is the way he saves us. He wants us to see that even in those moments when life feels so out of control and we feel so uncomfortable with our vulnerability, God is accomplishing his purposes. We are safe in his hands. And we are invited to marvel at the great gift of the Father’s shepherding presence in our life precisely in those situations where we are far too weak to accomplish our purposes.
This is salvation. To be in life — vulnerable, afraid, and weak — and yet to be calm and trusting that God will care for us feels like salvation to me. And so I am aware of the way God is saving my soul in those moments of vulnerability I wish I could avoid. It is precisely then that he is forming my heart deeper in the way of trust.
So, my response when I feel vulnerable is only to yield to whatever is happening to me. There is no need for resistance. There is no help found in defensiveness. The only way forward is acceptance, trust, and hope.
This is what Mary and Joseph did. Their lives were turned upside down by God’s arrival. They were exposed to the harsh realities of this world. All they could do was say, “I accept what is happening to me. I welcome whatever you are doing, Lord.”
This is my posture when I come face-to-face with my vulnerability. I simply say, “I welcome this.” And then I wonder, with delight and curiosity, what God might be doing in, through, and around me. As you live through your own vulnerable moments this Advent and Christmas, I pray you can welcome it all and notice God’s inhabiting presence right there with you…no matter how vulnerable it all feels.