Willing to be Vulnerable

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Willing to be Vulnerable

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very
nature God,did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being
made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he
humbled himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross! 

Phil. 2:5-8 (NIV)

Plodding along in my human way, heavy in my step, I walked a dry, stony path with my camera hanging around my neck. Butterflies danced on breezy sunlight above the dry, rain-starved wild grasses as I fingered my rosary and contemplated the mystery of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection. Half aware of my surroundings while half absorbed in prayer, I caught sight of a small black butterfly.

black butterfly closeup by Sister Ann Marie

It landed on a rock in the path, gently fanning its wings a couple times before resting in the stillness of the moment. Silently fingering my camera’s “on” button, I expected the butterfly to leave before I could take its picture. It stayed there several minutes, patiently allowing me to take pictures.

Either this was a very vain butterfly or I had been given a very great gift! That black butterfly made itself a sitting target for another hungry creature by staying still as long as it did. It was willing to be vulnerable – for whatever reason I will never truly know – for the moment, for another living creature, for my camera and me.

This was a sacred moment. It was a sign and a demonstration of the love God has for all living things. Christ Jesus was willing to be vulnerable for a lifetime of 33 years so that we might have an eternity of time in heaven. In a time and a culture where humanity grasps at and clings to power, authority, and wealth, the little and the vulnerable in our midst remind us of God’s incredible saving love for those who surrender themselves in complete faith and trust. May we all strive to possess the greatest power, authority, and wealth there is: the mind and heart of Christ.

 

 

Sister Ann Marie Wainright

Sister Ann Marie Wainright is a Benedictine Sister of St. Scholastica Monastery in Duluth, Minnesota. Originally from New Orleans, Louisiana, she worked as a CPA for many years before earning dual masters degrees in counseling and pastoral studies. Sister Ann Marie is interested how people encounter God in their daily lives and how they use their faith and spirituality in meeting difficult challenges.

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“Listen carefully, my child, to your master's precepts, and incline the ear of your heart. Receive willingly and carry out effectively your loving father's advice, that by the labor of obedience you may return to Him from whom you had departed by the sloth of disobedience.”
–St. Benedict of Nursia, The Rule of Saint Benedict