the value of weakness

"the more a community deepens, the weaker and more sensitive its members become.  you might think exactly the opposite - that as their trust in each other grows, they in fact grow stronger.  so they do.  but this doesn't disperse the fragility and sensitivity which are at the root of a new grace and which mean the people are becoming in some way dependent on each other.  love makes us weak and vulnerable,  because it breaks down the barriers and protective armour we have built around ourselves.  love means letting others reach us and becoming sensitive enough to reach them.  the cement of unity is interdependence."  -   jean vanier  ( founder of L'arche) in community and growth - chapter entitled  'one heart one soul one spirit'

at the very beginning of his book on community jean vanier is insistent upon demolishing idealistic notions of what community living is about
he emphasizes throughout that the essence of success in community living is to be found more in human weakness and our approach to it than in the collection of our strengths
often he makes the comparison to marriage where the man and woman are often confronted with their weaknesses in very real ways and are forced to either realize that weakness finds some solace in love or perhaps they become frightened and mistrustful the inability to face up to weakness becomes a destructive wedge

i live in a community where there are some amazingly talented people
and in fact it is a community that takes great comfort in knowing there are some living "heroes" in our midst
but i was rivetted to this quote for a particular reason
i realize i came into this community as a way of acknowledging my weaknesses
i had no designs on a profession or a place of strong service

i have been contented to be carried
i have been willing at times to be the lowest guy
i have a few talents i can offer
but i don't have social status the way other monks do
i'm just at the point in my life where i'm willing to accept that

it would seem that christ accepted the lived weakness of his disciples
and he still does

a community is bound together on the realized weaknesses of
those who realize they have to be there
they are dependent upon what the community has to offer