The cutting edges of our fragility

“We are unspeakably precious in the cutting edges of our fragility.” – James Finley

If I’m overdoing the Finley quotes, just let me know. This quote comes from an audiobook Transforming Trauma. In it, he explores some of the intersections of trauma and spirituality, the overlap of therapy and mysticism, of healing and spiritual growth. I highly recommend it for anyone interested in exploring these correlations. It would be especially helpful for those who have suffered trauma, but there is much that is helpful for all of the ways in which all of us are wounded.

I think the Apostle Paul gets at a similar point that Finley makes here: “When I am weak, then I am strong.” The idea is to see fragility and weakness as inherently holy and honor ourselves in our most vulnerable moments. We spend most of our waking hours fending off true vulnerability, at least I do. Weakness is scary.

Weakness is an important theme in Christianity. From my understanding, the Gospel of Mark was originally written without a resurrection. That was tacked on later by a concerned scribe!

When our fragility is valued in its own right, as an end in itself and not simply as a means to an end, it is at once both theologically radical and spiritually transformative. We follow Christ into the grave. We honor the preciousness of every fragile edge. We embody the paradox that when we are weak, that weakness itself is strength.