I.N.I.

a sermon to be preached at Immanuel Lutheran Church, Mt. Vernon, NY on the 7th Sunday after Pentecost (6 July 1997) and based on the Epistle for the day from the revised common lectionary: 2^nd Corinthians 12:2-10

Dear Friends in Christ:

On a certain level, we seek pats on the back every time we do some small thing. We look for approval from family and friends, from co-workers and bosses, for simply doing our job, for simply fulfilling our calling. And if we do go beyond the minimum, if we do hit some record, if we do surpass some goal, then we are wont to boast. We proclaim our own talents. We praise ourselves so that others will notice. We want them to notice. We want to be noticed.

There are a lot of people who will speak proudly of their own accomplishments, their powers and strengths and talents. We’ll write them down in resumes. We’ll hang our awards on our walls. We look to be noted in the newspaper, and admire those listed in a Who’s Who.

It’s natural. It’s the human thing to do. If we don’t toot our own horn, ain’t nobody gonna toot it for us. If you’re working and don’t talk up your own accomplishments, how will your supervisors ever notice and reward you for your hard work? If you’re not working, how else will you make sure that your family and friends know just what you’ve done if you don’t tell them?

Well, in Corinth back in the first century, St. Paul was faced with the possibility that he would have to do this, too, in order to validate his true apostleship. There were people there who were boasting and proud of their own spiritual accomplishments, people trying to gather followers among the Christian congregation in Corinth. It seemed necessary that St Paul would have to come up with some credentials on his part, too, in order to gain back his leadership role among the people. What could he boast about? What was there that Paul could tell or show the people that would secure his place at the head of the church there?

One thing that came to mind was a particularly intense and personal vision that had been granted him by the Lord some 14 years before. But Paul knew–and he wrote to the Corinthians–that boasting about that would be pointless. Paul knew beyond all doubt that boasting about such a thing would shift the people’s attention to the wrong thing. It would distract them. It would take them the absolutely wrong direction.

Paul wanted the people to focus on, to focus only and forever on, God Himself. Paul wanted only to talk about his own weaknesses. Anything noble or honorable about his character or his achievements was, Paul knew, from God. The only part that Paul contributed was weakness and emptiness.

The lesson Paul wanted to teach was that it is only in acknowledging our own weakness and emptiness, our own smallness and unworthiness–it is only in claiming and attending to these things that we do what is right. God works in these places in our lives.

When we fill our lives with our own strength and greatness, then God has less room to work. When we crowd God out of our lives, there is obviously less God in our lives. When we look at our own achievements, we aren’t looking at God’s achievements.

So, Paul refuses to boast in his own strength. He refuses to boast about the special spiritual revelation that had been given to him. He refuses to boast about his own achievements. What Paul does want to talk about is the Lord’s achievements and revelations and strength.

He has the answer to the question asked in Nazareth “Where did this man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been given to him? What deeds of power are being done by his hands?” Paul was dedicated to giving that prophet, his Lord and Savior Jesus, all the honor due to him wherever he is, at home or not.

And, as if he needed a reminder, the Lord gave Paul something that would remind him of this. The Lord gave Paul this “thorn in the flesh” that he wrote about. Now, there’s been a lot of speculation about just what Paul meant by this “thorn in the flesh. Was it some recurring disease like malaria? Was it another physical condition like epilepsy? Was it poor eyesight or a speech impediment? Some Bible commentaries include whole lists of possibilities with arguments for and against.

Some people are interested in knowing what it would have been in order to measure their own trials and tribulations against Paul’s. That’s so they can say ‘well, this is a real thorn in the flesh.’ I’m personally less interested in knowing just what it was that Paul was referring to in his own life. I’m more interested in just knowing that it was some sort of chronic difficulty that was given to Paul, and knowing that many things in my own life are at least somewhat similar to it.

And what’s even more interesting to me is the message of reassurance which Paul received and passed on to us through the Corinthians That’s the message from the Lord about these troubles that plague us throughout our lives. I don’t know what the thorn is in your life, and you don’t know what it is in mine, but we can both be reassured by the words Paul passes on to us.

When we wonder whether God is really still in control of the circumstances in our lives; when we ask how this particular trouble could come our way; when a difficulty does not leave us even after we’ve asked God to remove it from us … no matter what it is that weakens us and weakens our faith … we can be completely reassured that the grace of God is sufficient to meet our needs.

What does that mean in a practical way? That’s the big question. Does it mean that a family member can betray our love and support, but that we can survive it because we soak ourselves in God’s love? Yes. Does it mean that we might not feel like we can see the end to financial troubles that seem never to go away, but that we feel certain that we will indeed ultimately come out OK because we have God’s grace surrounding us? Yes. Does it mean that we might be living with chronic pain and wondering how we can survive another day with this very real and very devastating hurt, but that we keep coming back to the fact that God’s love reaches into the very center of our lives and that that love, that love is sufficient? Yes.

It keeps coming back to the centrality of God’s love for us. It keeps coming back to the overwhelming flood of grace that rolls through our life from beginning to end. It keeps coming back to the way that our each and every weakness is an opportunity for God’s power to be made perfect.

We have to return again and again to God’s power being made perfect in our weakness. If we held on to the chance that our own strength and talents could prove anything to the world, then we wouldn’t be letting God’s power be made perfect in us. We’d be clogging up the pipeline, or letting our own puny strengths create static on the lines. By allowing a space to be created in our weaknesses we allow the power and love of God to shine through unimpeded.

Others can see it in us. Our family can see it. Our friends and neighbors can see it. Ultimately God’s love, God’s power, God’s grace reaches to all corners of the world through the weak spaces in our lives, those thorns in the flesh that remain in our lives.

Maybe you can picture it like a stained glass window that has strips of lead holding together the individual pieces of glass. I’m guessing that the weaker parts of the structure are the pieces of glass, not the dark, heavy metal borders that hold the glass in place. But the light shines through the weaker glass, and in church windows the light tells the story of God to all who see and can read them.

If you can picture your life being like one of those windows with the light, power, and grace of God shining through the weaker parts of your life, then I think you’ve got an understanding of why Paul was satisfied that the Lord let the thorn remain in his flesh. Then I think you have an understanding of why God may be letting a thorn remain in your flesh, too.

Then we can say with St Paul “Therefore I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ; for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.”

In His name. AMEN

S.D.G.