Friday, 29 August, 2003

From William C. Placher’s “Narratives of a Vulnerable God”



Similarly, in individual relations, the impulse to dominate others rests in large part on feeling a need to protect oneself. In Reinhold Niebuhr’s eloquent phrase, “there is no level of greatness and power in which the lash of fear is not at least one strand in the whip of ambition.” Even with those we love most, as when parents love their children, love resists risking freedom, wants to keep in control. Human beings seek power because they are afraid of weakness, afraid of what might happen should they be vulnerable, and so the drive for power that looks like the purest expression of freedom proves in significant degree inspired by an enslaving fear that dares not risk vulnerability.



Afraid of weakness…afraid of what will happen if we or those closest to us would be vulnerable – therefore we look to dominate, be on top, control the situation so that we can push that fear and anxiety out of sight. But…it never goes away; it is only painted or decorated – disguised. This is also a very typical way of entering relationship…or a good excuse not to enter them. If we hold back, if we do not risk the utter vulnerability needed to become intimate with another person, we can maintain that distance that is like a protective bubble. Unfortunately, all bubbles break…sometime. We turn to the story of Jesus not for its adventures in overwhelming power. Rather, we turn to a story of a vulnerable God who is not afraid to touch and be touched. We turn to a God whose love does not create distance between us and them…it bridges the divides that so often try to hide our fears by pushing other away.



Connection: Homework for the day may involve the task of finding that “lash of fear” that is within the whip of ambition within our lives. What is it that keeps us from being vulnerable with others?



Thanks be to you, O God, for in the frailty of human form you demonstrated how we become human within your Reign. Inspire us to withstand the power of our fears and anxieties that attempt to rule us and lead us into lives that are quite contrary to your will. Amen.