Authentic vulnerability - July 6
Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 119:1-24; PM Psalm 12, 13, 14; Deut. 1:1-18; Rom. 9:1-18; Matt. 23:27-39
Jesus said, ‘Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which on the outside look beautiful, but inside they are full of the bones of the dead and of all kinds of filth. So you also on the outside look righteous to others, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.’
The imagery in the first couple of verses of Matthew appointed for today will not let me go. I am stuck on those whitewashed tombs. They are visually appealing on the outside, where people gather and remember with fullness and love. Once inside, one finds the space full of the detritus of death. What a stark and germane contrast Jesus provides, as he calls out the educated and influential spiritual leaders of the Temple to be authentic and vulnerable.
Authenticity sometimes means stopping to sit with someone in need, before finishing a chapel duty. Vulnerability looks like naming (and feeling) when there is uncertainty or pain, and then asking for help. This work of paying attention to reconcile – and not always resolve – the messiness within our hearts and around our communities is the holy and hard work we are called to do together. It is an effort grounded in prayer. It is a rhythm with roots in the movement of the psalms. Sometimes we will look beautiful and pleasing. Other times, this work of vulnerable authenticity will present as broken and sad. Because sometimes each of us is beautiful, and broken, and blubbering. Then, we find spaces of rest and release, laughter and hope.
Over the last nine days, I worked with a devoted and lovely team from Saint Stephen’s as we presented the daily program to junior high-aged teens at Camp McDowell. As the session included Independence Day, our theme for the week was interdependence. We hoped for the campers to grasp that we are never doing life alone and independently. The Israelites wandered through the deserts of Egypt with the cloud of God’s presence always nearby. They relied on one another, and upon the Lord. Jesus performed miracles for and with others – not for his own pleasure. Mary Magdalene went to the tomb to see her friend Jesus – and a gardener appears, to console and encourage her. She ran to the disciples to share the news that Jesus had risen from the dead. Those witnesses of faithfulness draw us into trusting God and one another.
By living life as interdependent Christians, by design we remain authentic and vulnerable, because we need one another, just as we need God. Jesus is with us in the messy collage that is daily life – in the midst of joy and heartache.
My dear ones, I pray that you are staying vulnerable and authentic. Whitewashing our lives only shortchanges the fullness of joy that God desires for each of us. I challenge you to share more openly with someone you trust, feel more deeply for those around you, and pray for Jesus to be with you in those moments when it would be easier to do something different. And ask for help – from a friend, from a professional, and from God.
Katherine+
Questions for Self-Reflection:
When are you most likely to whitewash a part of yourself or your history?
What people and practices in your daily life keep you grounded and vulnerable?
Daily Challenge:
Spend five minutes today to journal about what a call to being vulnerable and authentic looks like for you today. Think about who and what you need to help you venture into this meaningful and hard space.