An Early Resurrection

by Adam S. Miller

It’s tempting to think that my present weakness makes me fundamentally different from Christ. And then, as a result, it’s tempting to think that such weakness must be incompatible with Christ’s divine strength. If this is true, then, to be like Christ, I would have to be untroubled by time and untouched by cares. I would have to avoid suffering rather than caring for it. But this is backwards. Christ’s strength doesn’t simply rescue me from my weakness and vulnerability. As I’ve argued, it seems clear that his strength doesn’t even save him from his own power to be acted upon. Christ is strong enough to be vulnerable. Similarly, my weakness leaves me exposed to Christ, vulnerable to his care, and open to sharing a life with him. This weakness is the ground we share. It’s the ground of life. It’s ground zero for God’s promise. Without this weakness, I wouldn’t need him. I’d be walled up, alone, inside my own perfect strength.