Weak

The less we rely on our faith, the more weak it becomes. 

The Return of the Prodigal Son (Bartolome Murillo)

My eldest son has had two serious shoulder dislocations over the last year or so.

In the movies, when you see a character dislocate their shoulder, you usually see them roll around on the floor for a little while and then pop it back in themselves.  Later you see them walk around with the arm in a sling for a few minutes or hours and finally, they remove the sling and go about their business as usual.

However, the reality – as I have observed in my own son’s experience – is quite different…  The reality is that after a dislocation it can take some considerable time and intervention to get the joint back into place.  Prior to even trying to realign the joint, x-rays are taken to observe any damage to the bones.  Later MRIs are required.  Following that realignment, the arm is kept in a sling (constantly – day and night) for weeks (in my son’s case, 6 weeks in total.  During this time, the joint cannot be moved at all and it certainly cannot be moved in certain ways because this would cause the joint to dislocate again.

If – as was the case for my son – shoulder surgery is required, the lack of movement is even longer and more debilitating.  When the arm can finally come out of the sling, the arm still cannot be moved in certain ways.  It can only be moved a little in a certain direction as the joint is not fully healed or connected.  Intensive physiotherapy is required – three or four times a week, with exercises undertaken first every second day and later every day at home.

The person must not risk falling on the arm or joint as this could cause it to dislocate again and would cause further delays in recovery.  And this continues for up to twelve months after the injury…

And I have been thinking about this today, because my son worked very very hard to build back the strength in that arm and shoulder following his injury, because it remained very weak from disuse.  And this reminds me of faith.  The less we rely on our faith, the more weak it becomes.  If we can humble ourselves to be faithful in the event of any issue or problem, we will be able to be so strong in faith that the problem will disappear.  But the real probably is that sin is like a dislocated shoulder.  And just as when the joint is out of place, the shoulder must be immobilised, so too when we sin, is our faith immobilised.  This is because sin is a choice to follow the self rather than follow God’s Will.

And I have been thinking about that today as I have been thinking about my life.  For it seems to me that faith is one of those things where I need to practice a bit of physiotherapy and restrict myself from acting in certain ways (just as the should is restricted from moving in certain ways).  Because after that restriction, the real work can begin – which is to practice the movements required for a healthy shoulder (and a healthy soul), and to do this is a way that allows me to get strong…

For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.