Jesus had a way of taking our expectations and turning things upside down. How would a King enter a city? On a donkey? Don't be foolish. Should we demonstrate our righteousness by forgiving seven times? How about 7 times 70? Who shall inherit the earth? Did you choose the meek?
One of these perspectives that is hard to grasp is our own weakness. In our world weakness is bad. Not so according to scripture as Paul related in 2 Corinthians 9-10:
9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
How exactly does one be strong through weakness? One example is from the man whose birthday we celebrate today, Reverend Martin Luther King. One night during the Montgomery bus boycott after being arrested and despairing over threats to his family, MLK came to the end of himself and prayed:
Lord, I'm down here trying to do what's right. I still think I'm right. I am here taking a stand for what I believe is right. But Lord, I must confess that I'm weak now, I'm faltering. I'm losing my courage. Now, I am afraid. And I can't let the people see me like this because if they see me weak and losing my courage, they will begin to get weak. The people are looking to me for leadership, and if I stand before them without strength and courage, they too will falter. I am at the end of my powers. I have nothing left. I've come to the point where I can't face it alone.
It seems upside down to us, but when we are willing to admit that there is NO WAY we can handle the situation we're in, forcing us to turn to God for help, in that weakness, we finally find the strength we need to go on. As the rest of the story demonstrates:
As he prayed alone in the silent kitchen, King heard a voice saying, "Martin Luther, stand up for righteousness. Stand up for justice. Stand up for truth. And lo, I will be with you. Even until the end of the world." Then King heard the voice of Jesus. "I heard the voice of Jesus saying still to fight on. He promised never to leave me, never to leave me alone. No never alone. No never alone. He promised never to leave me, never to leave me alone."
And as the voice washed over the stains of the wretched caller, King reached a spiritual shore beyond fear and apprehension. "I experienced the presence of the Divine as I had never experienced Him before," he said. "Almost at once my fears began to go," King said of the midnight flash of illumination and resolve. "My uncertainty disappeared. I was ready to face anything."
Happy Birthday Rev. King!
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