March 30, 2010

Weakness

Excerpt from 1 Corinthians 1:18-31

"God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong."

Reflection by William C. Green

There's no self-help book on how to be weak! We want to be strong and successful leaders, parents, churches, friends, partners, investors, and only the sky's the limit, as one longtime bestseller is titled.

Meanwhile, Paul declares that weakness is God's preferred way of reaching us. God wants to shame the strong, not because strength itself is shameful, but because trying to achieve that alone is a shame, much like trying to build a sand castle that waves will wash away. We're to build on a foundation stronger than anything we can make reliable and fulfilling.

Simone Weil writes, "Grace [the blessing of God] fills empty spaces, but it can only enter where there is a void to receive it, and it is grace itself which makes this void." This is another way of saying that we can't receive a gift if our hands are full. Full of ourselves and the strength we want to achieve, sooner or later we trip up and get disillusioned.

Jerusalem was full of itself. God chose Bethlehem for the birth of Jesus. The Temple was full of itself. God chose a shabby band of disciples to become the church. And so it goes, through the Cross and beyond. Weakness is a setting for God's power, next to the success we often seek on our own terms.

Prayer

Almighty God, when we feel empty and weak, may we find the fullness of your love and strength. Amen.