The Vulnerable Face of God

During the Christmas season we see a lot of icons, especially relating to Mary and Joseph traveling by donkey to Bethlehem and the infant Jesus lying in a manger. The word “icon” comes to us from the Greek word “eikenai,” meaning “to seem or to be like.” Another name for Jesus is Emmanuel, “God with us,” so in a sense Jesus is an icon of God, showing us what God is like.

It is interesting then, isn’t it, that the first quality we see of God in Jesus is vulnerability? While he was still in the womb, Jesus experienced along with his parents the vulnerability of travel — the threats of being waylaid by robbers or bad weather and the uncertainty of being able to find lodging. Then there was the vulnerability that accompanies birthing and the total helplessness of a newborn infant, followed by the vulnerability to the tyranny of a king who was determined to wipe out any potential rivals.

Perhaps one reason God chose to come to earth as an infant is so we can learn to recognize God’s presence in all people who are vulnerable in our world, especially those still in the womb, children, people who are fleeing from tyranny and violence, families living in poverty, and elders who have fragile bodies and minds. Are we willing to let those who carry God’s vulnerability within them suffer from want and fear? If not, we need to find a way to advocate for them through use of our time, treasure, or talent, and pray that someday someone will do the same for us when we are ill, in danger, or in our elder years.

God’s appearance as an infant reflects the wisdom that it is in vulnerability, rather than power, where we find solidarity with and compassion for each other. For example, our universal vulnerability to the COVID-19 virus crosses lines of power and privilege and unites us in our human fragility. May it also lead us into a new age of compassion so we too, like Jesus, can be icons of our compassionate God.