Content with Weaknesses

Several days ago on a long drive to visit a friend, I was thinking about my voice and how I wish it was louder.  I was thinking about Mariah Carey and how she belts out a tune, and how I always wished I could sing like her.  That made me start thinking about how it would also be nice to look like Jennifer Lopez.  And keep house like Martha Stewart.  All with the heart of Mother Teresa. 

 

I don’t usually hear voices in my head, but somewhere in my consciousness I heard a divine chuckle.  And in the laughter, I heard a truth.  For some reason, our God is very comfortable with human weakness.  Have you noticed how he likes small things (“Unless you change and become like children….” Mt. 18:3), broken things (“Those who are well have no need of a physician….” Lk. 5:31), things that in some way must die before they can fully live (“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain!” Rev. 5:12)?  This is a God who creates greatness in ordinary things (“You are only a man!” Jn. 10:33) and who requires of his people a similar way of thinking (“The last shall be first, and the first shall be last.” Mt. 20:16).

 

St. Paul claimed that he boasted of his weaknesses.  He did this because he believed they placed him where he rightfully belonged – on the cross of Jesus.  Is it possible that the things we perceive as weaknesses or failings are actually the things that bind us most closely to the Holy One?  Our weaknesses, our sins, our problems and burdens – yes, they make us small, ordinary, broken.  But they are how we learn about dying and rising, about surrender, about needing a savior, and about what it truly means to be loved.

 

I will never look or sound like a celebrity.  And I will never be worthy to unbuckle the sandal of Mother Teresa much less aspire to her heart!  Like you, I have many things about myself that I would like to change (some more shallow than others!).  But I don’t perceive these things – even my serious weaknesses that are much more than skin-deep – as rotten parts of myself.  Rather they are the part of my humanity that still awaits transformation, they are my emptiness yet to be filled.  They are an invitation to God to be with me, because I know I am not whole by myself.

 

“So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.  Therefore I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ; for whenever I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Cor. 12:9-10).

Lessons of the Trees #3: Trust

There is a passage in the book of the prophet Jeremiah that once you’ve read or heard it, you never forget.  It has that kind of imagery.  It is an image of a tree that grows near enough to a river that its roots grow and stretch toward the life-giving waters, receiving all the sustenance it needs to weather any drought and bear fruit in any season.  Jeremiah personifies the tree – it “does not fear” and “it is not anxious.” 

 

The tree is a metaphor for those who trust God.  Like the tree, they are well-placed.  They need only “send out their roots” to reap the benefits of the waters, which flow unceasingly from the One who refreshes the soul.  Reaching out for those waters – it stretches us – it is uncomfortable.  We are tentative at first.  But when we begin to feel the cooling effects of the river, we are soothed and encouraged.  Our roots reach ever farther, deeper into the soil where there is always plenty of water in reserve, farther toward the river where waters flow freely.

 

This is the nature of trust.  It is a slow growth which roots us deeply in the one we depend on.  At first we are unsure, but when we discover that our reaching out never leaves us dry or parched, then, when the drought comes and the heat pelts us, we can stand tall and stoic, our roots soaking up the life-saving waters.  We discover that we not only weather hostile conditions – but that in the end we may even flourish. 

 

The Cross of Jesus was one of these well-placed trees.  Here trust played out between a Father and Son, between human and divine, between a dying thing and the Author of all life.  Faced with drought and ruin, roots reached deeply into fertile soil and drank abundantly from the river of God.  And in the fertile conditions of trust, the dead wood of the Cross again sprouted green leaves, and bore the first-fruits of eternal life!


Blessed are those who trust in the Lord,
   whose trust is the Lord.
They shall be like a tree planted by water,
   sending out its roots by the stream.
It shall not fear when heat comes,
   and its leaves shall stay green;
in the year of drought it is not anxious,
   and it does not cease to bear fruit (Jer. 17:7-8).

A Prayer for Women

The role of women in the Passion and Resurrection Narratives in the Gospels should get our attention and lead us to a better understanding of the importance of women in the life and ministry of Jesus as a whole. 

This prayer highlights the relationship between Jesus and the women in his life – those who followed him during his earthly ministry, and those who follow him now:

 

Lord Jesus Christ, your presence was powerful in the lives of women.  You were born of a woman, whom you honored and loved, and who treasured you in her heart (Lk. 2:7, 51).  You revealed yourself to women as the Messiah, the Resurrection, and the Life (Jn. 4:26; 11:25-27).  You were friends with women (Jn. 11:5).  You were welcomed into their homes (Lk. 10:38).  Women travelled with you (Lk. 8:1-3), listened to your words (Lk. 10:39), wept for you (Lk. 23:38), witnessed your death (Mk. 15:41) and proclaimed your Resurrection (Jn. 20:18). 

Lord Jesus, with compassion and power, over and over you healed women of faith and their loved ones (Mk. 5:34; Mt. 15:28).  You expelled demons from the depths of their souls (Mk. 16:9), healed them spiritually by the forgiveness of their sins (Lk. 7:48), and restored them physically, freeing them from the bondage of illness and pain (Lk. 13:16). 

Like the women of the Gospels, we befriend you, we welcome you into our homes, we walk with you, listen to you, weep with you, follow you to the Cross, and witness your empty tomb.  We too have experienced your healing touch and the restoring power of your forgiveness.  Heal us again, Lord, and strengthen us to proclaim with Mary Magdalene, “I have seen the Lord!” (Jn. 20:18).  Amen.

The Resurrection Narratives in the Four Gospels

It’s Easter Season – the perfect time of year to read and meditate on the Resurrection Narratives in the four Gospels.  Sometimes the accounts run together in our minds, and it's hard to remember which story comes from which Gospel.  Which evangelist tells of Jesus asking Peter if he loved him?  Which one tells of the Risen Christ breaking bread with his disciples?  Which one tells of Mary Magdalene weeping at the tomb? 

Click below for a handy guide to the Resurrection Narratives in the four Gospels. It will help you quickly identify where each story can be found.  You can also compare the stories and identify some interesting similarities among the different accounts (e.g., the Risen Christ eating fish and showing his wounds in both Luke and John).

Note that Mary Magdalene is the first to see the Risen Christ in all accounts except the Gospel of Luke, where she is still among the women who are first to discover the empty tomb.  That's quite an honor for one who was once possessed by seven demons (Lk. 8:2)!

The Resurrection Narratives are easy to find in each Gospel – just check out the last chapter of each of the Synoptic Gospels (Mt. 28, Mk. 16, and Lk. 24) and the last two chapters of the Gospel of John (Jn. 20-21). 

Guide to the Resurrection Narratives in the Four Gospels (PDF)

I Have Power to Lay It Down

Good Friday

No one takes [my life] from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.  I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again (Jn. 10:18).

Today, when you look upon your Savior on the cross – don’t feel guilty.  It isn’t enough.  Feel elated, feel loved, feel treasured and valuable.  No one takes my life, he said, I lay it down.  I lay it down because I love you, and I want to show you who I am; I will show you who you are; I am showing you who we are together.

Jesus is a victim, but a willing one.  The greatest love is this, he said, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends (Jn. 15:13).  Today, accept the friendship offered by the one on the Cross.  That is one thing that can make today very Good.