Today I had to suffer running a couple of miles out of breath and unfocused before mentally and physically hitting my stride. Instead of giving up, I had to accept my frailty with humility and keep going.
In both Judaism and Orthodox Christianity, the Eternal is born from frailty. Be it a word uttered from the mouth or a child born from a womb, the infinite seems vulnerable at the start.
Jewish mystics in Northeast Spain in the 13th century believed that an entire heaven is born each time a new word or phrase is uttered in the act of studying the Torah. According to the Zohar, the rabbis also believed that God consulted the Torah four times before enacting Creation, making studying an expression of Eternal love. For Jews, to study is to fashion eternity anew, and you don't have to be God to do the work: the order of the universe can change from one student's humble word.
In Orthodox Christianity, study is less important than meditating on acts of divine love, in which God assumes a lowly position. Theotokos (Mary) has a special place in the cosmos because of her mystic womb that delivered the Eternal into the world as a helpless child. For the Orthodox, pondering the miracle of that moment has saving power.
For my running life, I take strength knowing that the limits of my abilities do not diminish my capacity to touch the Eternal in myself. Perhaps they make me more attuned to the small voice that calls to me, saying:
my love is building a building
around you,a frail slippery
house,a strong fragile house
--.e.e cummings
From St. Vladimir's Seminary Men's Choir, a beautiful Theotokion (hymn to Mary):
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