Word to the Wise
Sunday, July 5, 2015 - 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time - B
[Ezek 2:2-5; 2 Cor 12:7-10; Mark 6:1-6]I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me. Therefore, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and constraints, for the sake of Christ; for when I am weak, then I am strong. [2 Corthinians]
We will probably never know what it was that Paul considered his "thorn in the flesh" that made him seem "weak" in the eyes of others, and in his own eyes. It was severe enough for him to beg God for relief. Whatever it was, God told him to live with it, and Paul came to see it as a manifestation of of living not with his own strength but with that of faith in Christ.
It can be a truly humbling experience when circumstances of health, or natural accident or economic or political disasters take everything away that one has come to depend on and one is left weak and utterly exposed. For some folks, this is the first time that prayer or any kind of need for God occurs! The feeling of being competely powerless to reverse a terrible loss brings the light of faith in the face of despair. Time and time again on the news, we will hear people say after they have been dispaced by conflict or natural disaster or other events that it is their faith that helps them to survive and live on.
St. Paul was a "powerful" figure because his faith made him determined to preach the gospel no matter what he had to endure to accomplish his mission. No doubt his personality, which was pretty strong, helped him, but the message was more powerful than the person. He saw himself, with whatever faults and virtues he had, as a co-worker with Christ. Can we do the same? Can Christ's message shine through us, no matter what? How "powerful" do we have to be? Can we handle the Lord's own weakness on the cross? AMEN