Many of us have few problems seeing Jesus as a good teacher, a great example and a kind man. It’s much harder for us to think about him as a helpless baby, vulnerable and dependent. It’s even harder for us to find ourselves helpless, vulnerable and dependent.
We clothe our humanity not only literally, but metaphorically, equating being human with independence, intelligence and competence. We don’t like to think of helplessness, chivvying our children into being toilet trained and able to feed themselves from a young age. Whilst there is nothing wrong with expecting our children to grow up, we often struggle with the fact of helplessness, especially as we grow older and gradually lose our ability to do even basic things like get dressed or feed ourselves. Such helplessness offends us and scares us.
God is not afraid of vulnerability. He chose to come to earth not as an adult warrior or a superhero. Instead, Jesus came as a baby and learned obedience from what he suffered, just as we have to. (Heb 5:8) He died a criminal’s death on a cross, dying naked and in public view. Whatever else Christmas and Easter teach us, they teach us that ‘God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.’ (1 Cor 1:27-29) Perhaps they also teach us that helplessness and vulnerability are not the worst things that can happen to us. When we are weak, God is strong. (2 Cor 12:9)