~ Rigoberta Menchu
In these days of the coronavirus and limitations on our freedom, I am thinking of vulnerability in an entirely different way.
These days vulnerable means the children with special needs who were born with asthma or other breathing issues, heart defects or struggle with weaker defenses against illness.
These days vulnerable means the aging, even healthy ones, who may or may not withstand. It means the nursing homes which house whole communities susceptible to major complications or death if they were to get sick.
These days vulnerable means any age with asthma, history of pneumonia, those fighting cancer or another debilitating disease.
These days vulnerable means children who are in unsafe homes with no break for school. It means many exposed more openly to abuse and the simmering anger of confined spaces. It means the poor and disenfranchised without food or unable to get past the consuming hoards to purchase what they need. It means I must do my part to bring a clear end to their suffering.
These days vulnerable means I must sacrifice the relative freedom a healthy home might enjoy for the sake of ‘the least of these’ . It means my choices have radical potential to effect these precious unsheltered lives, even leading to their death. It means I must protect them and think far beyond my own personal risk.
These days vulnerable means I see Jesus on every face, in every soul. It means I know the dear ones, empathize with their longing, yet honor the sweet contentment they have found in the reality of their weakness. It means I put on love with my very life, and never, not for one second, let them leave my mind’s eyes.
These days vulnerable means I place myself in community, entering in new ways, the pain of this broken world. It means I look into the eyes of everyone who loves one of the especially vulnerable. Then, I wonder, is there anyone missing in this whole planet upon whom I must not shower my love?
These days vulnerable means challenging you, my reader, to look with thankfulness upon the profound opportunity you and I have to join {virtual} hands. It means keeping one another accountable to the needs of all of our brothers and sisters.
These days vulnerable means remembering whether physically or not, we are all vulnerable. We are vulnerable to pride, selfish choices, anger, complaining, discontent–we are vulnerable to losing our way on alarming levels, not to mention our own health could be compromised.
These days vulnerable means choosing a new way right here and right now. It means trusting in a God we may not even call on personally, because we know this is so very beyond us. It means believing our love brings about God’s heart of healing for all of creation.
These days vulnerable means we know this world is temporary, and there is an unseen reality which goes infinitely further into the depth of all Love. It means we may not be able to physically save the vulnerable, but we can live in a way which loves them to their last breath.
These days vulnerable means much more than it did a few short weeks ago. And I know that I know that I know I can become better–more thoughtful, more intimate with the weak, more cognizant of how small I really am in light of the whole of humanity.
