It is good to see you vulnerable the person said. It was a passing statement I overheard. The person addressed appeared very strong. But for one moment, she let her wall down, and allowed her vulnerability to be seen. The sight of that vulnerability only endeared her to the rest of us.
It got me thinking. In a way, lent is like that. Lent is about letting that wall of protection down and allowing my vulnerability to be seen. It isn't a show. For I am vulnerable, as are you, and you, and you. It is part and parcel of the human condition.
God knows how hard it is for us to accept our vulnerability. For to be vulnerable is to be hurt, to be wounded, and to possibly be destroyed. To let us know it is not the worst thing that can happen to us, God came down to earth, to be vulnerable like us.
It is a reminder that suffering, weakness, pain need not be the conquerors. No, we are better than that, stronger than that, more resilient than that. But we forget.
So today, if you receive ashes on your forehead, let the words sink in. "Dust thou art, to dust thou wilt return" is not a death sentence. It is a reminder that we have something in common, something we all share.
For when we remember our vulnerability, when we let it be seen, we are reminding ourselves that we are family, no one is in this alone, that we all share in this journey forward. Vulnerability unites us by reminding us we need one another, that pain has a way of bringing out the best in us, if only we can use it for good. Vulnerability is honesty. And honestly is authenticity.
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