Ordinary 14

The Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time 2018 – Cycle B Ezekiel 2:2-5; Psalm 123; 2 Corinthians 12:7-10; Mark 6:1-6

How many of us don’t like to admit we don’t know something because others might think less of us in some manner?  How many of us won’t admit our hearing is deteriorating and so we fake our way through conversations?  When arguing, don’t we know the “buttons” of the other person to push?   How many of us like winning; all of the time?

Whether in sport, war, argument or business, we seek out the weak point.  The aim is to win!   …to be the best!  …to crush the opponent!   For how many of us does winning bolster our sense of self-esteem, massage our pride and support our self-image?   National leaders know this as they heighten their rhetoric at times of war, economic depressions, and incidents of national unease and tragedies.  You rally the troops.  Sports coaches know this as they prep the team before competition.  “Go out there and win one for the Gipper!”  Notice that in all of these examples the casualty often is truth.  You tell the people what they want to hear.  We tell ourselves what we want to hear.

Life cannot be that way for a Christian.

Paul in this second letter to the Corinthian Church is defending himself against false teachers who have been undermining his authority.  And though Paul, in contradistinction of these false teachers boasts about visions and revelations, imprisonments and floggings, he climaxes his argument with the public acknowledgment that he has been given a “thorn in the flesh”; a weakness, a limitation that hinders his proclamation of the Gospel.

No one really knows what Paul is referring to though the Corinthians are no doubt aware of it.  The nature of this “thorn in the flesh” is not important.  What is important is that Paul comes to experience his weakness as an opportunity for Christ.  Paul comes to see that his ministry is fulfilled by Christ working through him despite his limitations.  Thus Paul can make no claim to success.  All boasting must be in the Lord.   Thus he can write, “When I am weak, then I am strong” in Christ and because of Christ.

So, what is your weakness?  What causes you shame or embarrassment?  What limitations do you try and hide from others, from yourself?  What weakness has hindered you from actively participating, volunteering, and serving in the life of this parish?

Are you shy?  Not a strong speaker? Is it a bodily disfigurement that bothers you? Pride?  Do you think you are better than other people? A false sense of humility or unworthiness?   Do you have a fear of failure? Is it high expectations of people – no one ever comes up to your standards? Are you plagued by temptations of various kinds? Are you an angry personality?  Are you addicted to something? Are you too intellectual or not knowledgeable enough?  …by whose standards? Are you a prickly personality?  Arrogant maybe?  Judgmental? Do you feel you have nothing to offer Christ in his Church? Do you think you are spiritually superior to other members of our community? Do you consider volunteering below you?

The prophet Jeremiah thought he was too young.  Sarah thought she was too old.  Jonah runs away. Peter is sinful.  James and John are power hungry.  Simon is a revolutionary. Thomas doubts and questions everything.  Mary of Bethany is lazy.  Judas is a thief. Paul persecuted the church.

God in Christ used them all for the sake of the Kingdom.

So what about you?  How do you perceive your weakness?   Is it a source of embarrassment or of humility in Christ?  Do you believe that God can use you and me, has and is using you and me despite our sins, weaknesses, shortcomings, and limitations?  In other words, do you think God is greater than ourselves?

Paul came to that conclusion only through prayer.  Three times he begged Jesus for this “thorn in the side” to leave him.  God did not cause his affliction but God was revealed through Paul’s affliction.  And so Jesus responded, “My grace [my life, my spirit, my light] is enough for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.”  Prayer allows us to discover God’s grace already within each of us.  God doesn’t cause the evil in our lives but God’s grace can be revealed through our griefs and sufferings, our sin and our weakness.

Contemplate the crucified Christ – see your limits, your faults, your sins exposed to the light.   See God’s power to save shining though that broken body.  It’s not about winning.