From
Hebrews 11:1-38
H,
There is an ugly part to the
whole thing we never own up to. We think in terms of “glory” as the unveiling of
something beautiful but this is as far as our eyes can see. A true love story, a
true one, has a lot of time for weakness, serious acts of stupidity and grace
and love above all. It is not two pristine bodies and powerful hearts meeting.
It is the redemption of something unloved and unlovable by the greatest idea in
the universe.
We have been socialized into
dressing up and out. The things that are most interesting to God about us we
probably cover up the best. We rehearse lines and read from a benign script
that misses the pull of grace or the majesty of what is real. Paul, that most
maligned apostle, got it at some point. He connected the power of God working
in ordinary lives to the willingness to let in the ugly. “For when I am weak,
then I am most strong”. Are we ever more strong than when we have been on our
knees before God owning up to our ugly? The unnecessary weight lifts off and
for a minute, before we try to get pretty again, we can feel the lightness of
soul we need to deal with the heavy world. Was Christ ever more beautiful than
when he was beaten beyond all recognition and his humanity reduced to a shameful
death? But all this at the will of God,
for that coming glory and for love, the only thing that is beautiful in itself.
This is a faith for the ugly
people.
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