A journey of the soul – Day 11

We do not like to think of God as vulnerable. Our souls yearn for a God who is a rock – a God who fixes what is broken, who saves when all is lost. It is human nature to seek gods who wield power: the ancient Greeks had Zeus with his lightning bolts that he shot out in fits of anger, while the Egyptian sun god Ra and Shiva from the Hindu mythology, are seen as almighty deities who not only controlled the forces of nature but also the fate of men. Even Yahweh, in the Old Testament, is seen as a God who is mightier than the Egyptian god. Remember Moses pitting the strength of the God of Israel against that of the Pharaoh; and Elijah challenging Baal on Mount Carmel and setting the God of Israel up against him almost as if to say “my God is stronger than your god!”?

Yet, in Christ, we experience God as the vulnerable one. He does not make his appearance in power and glory but as a helpless baby in a crib, born to ordinary parents like you and I. He has no place to lay down his head and is crucified as a common criminal.

Why? Why does the all-powerful God of the universe choose to reveal himself in this way? What does it mean to us that God chooses to engage the world in this way? Perhaps, it is in his wounded state that God best demonstrates his solidarity with the weak, the outsider, the broken-hearted, the outcasts and those who suffer physically and mentally; and with you and me. He is our brother and suffers with us in whatever befalls us. Moreover, through his suffering, he redeems us. That is power in the true sense of the word of God.