April 2/Good Friday
I am forgotten like the unremembered dead; I am like a dish that is broken. ~ Ps 31.12-13
We arrive on the doorstep of this Good Friday after a year when so much seems to have been broken. Freedoms we took for granted — to go to the office, to attend social gatherings, to shop for groceries, to hug a grandparent or grandchild — have been curtailed or suspended. We have not shaken hands, or sat around a full conference table, or ridden a crowded elevator, in months. Even as we emerge from pandemic’s shadows, we are changed — no, chastened. We can no longer keep up the pretense that everything is okay, that we have it all under control, that we haven’t struggled to make sense of our world. But this vulnerability, which the psalmist likens to a broken dish, may be the gift that God is giving us in and through these trials. Times of weakness and discouragement are precisely the moments in which we can make our deepest connection with God, and with other people. When we appear perfectly in control, not a metaphorical (or literal) hair out of place, we may unwittingly discourage others from reaching out to us. I remember one particular occasion a few years ago when an acquaintance said to me, “You always look so put together!” At that time in my life, I was feeling anything but put together, yet somehow my facade communicated otherwise. God, of course, isn’t taken in by the glossy veneer, but sees right through to the flawed creature within. If we let others see those flaws too, we may be amazed at the understanding and acceptance that become possible. There is a holiness and beauty to our brokenness, which is a shadow of the holiness, and the profound beauty, of Christ broken and suffering on the cross. Let us embrace and share it in trust.
O perfect God, Give me the courage today to show imperfection to you and to others. Amen.
For today’s readings, click here: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/040221.cfm
To hear the King’s College (Cambridge) Choir sing Bach’s “O Sacred Head, Sore Wounded,” click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3M4uUJibpvw
