PENTECOST 7 (B14) 8 July 2018 Weakness and Strength Thorn in the Flesh (2 Corinthians 12.2-10) Grant Bullen There is no scriptural biography of Paul the Apostle we get a few unreliable snippets in Acts but that s all. So, our main information about him comes from reading between the lines of his own letters. Today we have one of the most tantalising of all these occasional moments of selfdisclosure He s been arguing his credentials, alluding to the fabulous spiritual experiences (revelations) he s been given But then he writes, Therefore, to keep me from (getting too carried away with myself), a thorn was given to me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me. What was this thorn in the flesh? Some sort of handicap limitation experience of suffering But he never says what so it s always been a source of speculation. (What was it?) There was a great storm, decades back, when a scholar suggested that Paul was actually homosexual that it was his sexuality that tormented him! It makes a great story, but there s not much in the way of evidence to support it. It could have been some sort of speech-defect a stutter or the like because he does allude once or twice to the fact that he s not an impressive public speaker. We ll never know Simply, the way he talks about it this thorn is some sort of physical impairment that he experienced as a limitation a handicap. And it s something he d rather not have! Following that very natural human instinct, he begs God to take it away from him. Three times I appealed to the Lord about this, that it would leave me But in a helpful reminder, that God answers our prayers by giving us what we need rather than what we want God doesn t take it away. And Paul comes to see that this thorn is not a problem, but rather it s a gift. Why is it a gift? There s the answer he s already supplied that it stopped him from getting too carried away with himself. 1
Because of the extravagance of those revelations, and so I wouldn t get a big head, I was given the gift of a handicap to keep me in constant touch with my limitations. The experience of the thorn brings him back to earth keeps him grounded in reality. I understand that It s been a constant experience for me in life, particularly in ministry. If ever I ve got carried away with my ability because the parish is looking successful say very quickly something goes badly wrong to remind me of my true reality And as painful as it is, that is very necessary and very helpful. (I wonder what your experience is?) Anyway, I get what he s saying God s Voice But more significant for Paul, when it comes to seeing his limitation as a gift, is the voice he hears from God saying, My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in your weakness. Or as it could be paraphrased My grace is enough; it s all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness. The first half of this is simple enough There s no need to be concerned about your limitations, because my grace is more than sufficient to any situation and that s all you need. I get that too! But the second half of God s declaration is more challenging much harder to understand. for my power is made perfect in your weakness or my strength comes into its own in your weakness. Now that s not easy to receive it s entirely counter-cultural. For we validate, approve-of and admire strength especially in the face of adversity. ( She is so strong in facing that terrible illness! ) But we see weakness very negatively it s a failing a shameful thing even. Indeed, we use the word weak as a castigating pejorative (He s weak why doesn t he man up a bit! At the football every week the supporters scream That was a weak effort! and they re not being complimentary.) And yet here is Paul claiming that God has told him the complete opposite that weakness is a gift indeed weakness is a strength. The Story 2
Here s a story about strength and weakness that I heard John Westerhoff 1 tell There was a priest he knew, a single man, prone to loneliness. And so it was a delight when close friends, a couple he d known from way-back, shifted to his town and joined his parish. They saw a lot of each other and as friend and priest, he shared their struggle in the years they couldn t conceive a child. And then he shared the joy of their miracle baby a beautiful boy who he baptised. And then he shared the horror of the terrible domestic accident their beautiful child run-over in the driveway dead before the ambulance ever arrived. The priest heard the terrible news and rushed to them. As he drove he had time to gather himself. I must be strong for my friends. I am their priest and I must find the right words to console them. I must be strong for my friends. But when he walked inside and saw them, he lost it completely. He wept inconsolably he had no words and even worse, he threw himself on the floor and cursed God. That day all became a terrible blur. He couldn t remember leaving all he remembered was his friends holding him consoling him! He gathered himself for the funeral and did a beautiful job. And he visited his friends attentively in the weeks that followed. But they noticed something. He couldn t look at them, and there was a distance between them. One night they asked him around specially, sat him down with a glass of wine and gently challenged him asking him what was happening. He denied it at first but eventually the dam broke and out it came in a torrent of tears. On the day you needed me most, I let you down. I wanted to be strong for you but I was hopeless. I failed you as a priest and as your friend. When his crying had stopped sufficiently for him to hear them, they spoke to him these words. But you were wonderful. You wept with us you broke your heart with ours you cursed God for us. You let us hold you. It was all so horrible... so much pain. There was nothing to say, nothing to do. You gave us all you had, and it was what we needed. 1 He is an American educator and write that had a big influence in me as a young priest. 3
Reflection I don t know how it was for you, but my upbringing taught me to be strong... It was essential if I was to be a good man in the community, a good husband and father indeed if I was to be a faithful Christian and priest. So regardless of the situation, regardless of what I felt internally, I was conditioned to be strong partly as self-protection but mainly as a gift of love to those who rely on me. That s what I was taught. So, it s come as quite a shock to hear as the years roll by that some people find my strength oppressive controlling too strong. This is especially true of people who are close to me mainly family, but also occasionally parishioners. Slowly I m learning to listen to their voice, when they tell me that it s better for them when I m not strong all the time when I m actually in touch with my weakness. They tell me that love flows more obviously in me they feel more loved by me when I m not so strong! Reflect on your life. What s your experience? At very least, today s reading from 2 Corinthians is posing the question What would life be like if we explored our weakness rather than always needing to be strong? Paul s Theology It s a good question but there s more to what Paul is saying This thorn in the flesh stuff is at the heart of how he saw and taught the faith. Being strong can so often be a matter of self-assertion that false self that needs to be independent and in charge all the time that false self that has little space for God. But when we re in touch with our weakness when that egoic-self, expressed in strength, retreats or dies even then space opens up within us and the Spirit floods in. In weakness there is room for the Spirit room for the Spirit of Christ to move and act. 4
Paul spoke of this quite literally In the space that honest weakness opens, Christ moves in and takes up residence within us. Our old life is not perfected, but rather replaced entirely and we are now breathing, seeing, living and loving as Christ. My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in your weakness. My grace is enough; it s all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness. Conclusion Such a radical take-over can sound very weird scary even... Until we wake up one day and realise, that Christ is our true self. Christ is who we truly and uniquely are. 5