14th Sunday B
July 7, 2024
Here is an insult you can add to your repertoire, “You are a thorn in my flesh.”
This is what St. Paul complains about in today’s excerpt from the 2nd letter to the community at Corinth. One thorn Paul must deal with is those who he calls “Super apostles”. Those who think they have the corner on holiness in the community. Being super means that they are pumped up with their own abilities. They are far from humble. Paul is quick to remind them that he is not super. He has a thorn that keeps him humble. We are not clear what this thorn takes, but we are sure it serves to remind Paul that he is weak. He is humble because he is weak. Paul ends this excerpt by reminding us that Weakness leads to strength from above. In his words, “When I am weak, I am strong.”
Paul has been given a thorn to keep him humble. We may ask ourselves what thorn keeps us humble?
- Is my thorn illness?
- Is my thorn a job?
- Is my thorn a person?
- Is my thorn a situation in life?
How does my thorn keep me humble?
In the gospel being in one’s hometown keeps him humble. Many in his hometown can’t see beyond the child they knew in years past. Here is the child whose dirty diapers were changed by those in the synagogue that day. This is the child they spanked when he misbehaved. Are we now to see him as a prophet?
Being a prophet is not easy. So many of the prophets rejected the call from God. “I am too young”, “I don’t have the words.” “I will run away.” The prophets before Jesus and Paul took time to recognize that God chooses the weak. “When I am weak, I am strong.” One’s weakness allows one to rely upon God.
Recognizing one’s weakness means one allows the power of God to work through one. I am glad to be weak, for it means I am not the one in control. I don’t have to worry about the sun coming up without my willing it so.
So many of the saints were weak men and women who God called. When they let go and let God be in charge, they were able to do the will of God.
I am a great fan of the Serenity prayer by the teacher Reinhold Niebler. (This is the original longer version)
God grant me the Serenity
To accept the things I cannot change,
Courage to change the things I can,
And the Wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time,
Enjoying one moment at a time.
Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace,
Taking, as he did, this sinful world as it is,
Not as I would like it.
Trusting that he will make all things right,
If I surrender to his will.
That I may be reasonably happy in this world
And supremely happy in the next.
One thorn I have been given is the thorn of fear. When I give in to my fear, I become frozen. When I let the fear recede and let the spirit take over, I go forward to do what God wants me to do.
One of the things I know is that I am not in charge. It is when I try to take control that I get in trouble. The work of my redemption is done. I just need to be weak enough to allow the spirit to work through me.
“Because Christ wore a crown of thorns, I bear the thorn of weakness.”