“For when I am weak, then I am strong.” What a curious statement for Paul to make – we hear it at the end of today’s second reading. Sometimes, St. Paul can sound like an insufferable know-it-all or a proud braggart. In today’s reading, however, we encounter a real sense of humility as we hear him speak of a thorn in the flesh that had been given to him. He doesn’t elaborate, doesn’t tell us what that “thorn in the flesh” is, and theologians have been speculating ever since what it was. The most interesting theory I’ve read was that he was afflicted with epilepsy – who knows!?! Paul does tell us that it was the work of Satan, and its purpose was to keep him from become too elated, as we hear in today’s reading. It reminds me of our Lord’s admonition in the Sermon on the Mount, when he calls blessed “the poor in spirit,” and assures them that, “theirs is the kingdom of God.” Those who admit that without God they have nothing will be among the blessed in the kingdom of God. St. Paul has come to recognize that this is an essential aspect of true discipleship and so he relates that the Lord had revealed to him that his grace was enough for Paul. He recognizes that “power is made perfect in weakness.”
The passage we hear from St. Paul’s letter to the Christians in Corinth follows immediately after he had spent no little time boasting about the revelations he had received from the Lord. Paul wrote about both sides of his spiritual life in order to teach the community of believers in ancient Corinth – and us – an essential foundational element of a healthy spirituality. Just as he had received the gift of revelation, so he has been given a thorn in the flesh. St. Paul is teaching us that awareness of our unworthiness and weakness is an essentil spiritual gift because only to the extent that we recognize our absolute dependence upon God and accept everything that happens in our lives as gift from God can we grow in holiness. And, holiness – that is, God’s presence in our lives – sometimes comes in unexpected ways.
We see that in today’s Gospel account. As today’s account begins, Jesus is returning home after his second missionary adventure with his disciples across the region of Galilee. According to Mark’s Gospel, Jesus began his ministry in Capernaum, a little town on the coast of the Sea of Galilee where he had moved after his baptism by John the Baptist. Jesus had performed some miracles there – including healing Peter’s mother-in-law – but then left Capernaum and went to the neighboring towns and villages to preach. He told his disciples that it was for this purpose that he had come. During this first journey, Jesus had preached in the synagogues of these towns and villages, had cured a leper and even driven out demons!
When he first returned to Capernaum, he was greeted with great enthusiasm. You will recall that it was during this first visit back home that the crowd was so large around his house that they had to open the roof above him to let in a paralytic to be cured. It was this cure that first got Jesus in trouble with the Jewish leaders because he said to the paralytic, “Child, your sins are forgiven.” Rather than recognizing God in their midst, the scribes accused Jesus of blasphemy. “Who but God alone can forgive sins?” they demanded to know. Of course it is understandable that they would struggle with recognizing Jesus as God – after all, they knew him as the carpenter’s son, a simple man, and they were expecting someone else – a powerful ruler who would return their kingdom to its former stature here on earth.
By the time that Jesus returned to Capernaum this second time – that’s the story as it picks up in today’s Gospel reading – Jesus’ reputation as a preacher and healer had spread far and wide throughout the region of Galilee. But, his folks at home were not convinced that he was anyone special. As we hear this morning, “they took offense at him.” God had appeared in a new and marvelous way, but they weren’t open to his presence. Following in the footsteps of the prophet Ezekiel, from whom we heard in today’s first reading, Jesus listens to the command his heavenly Father gives him and goes where he is sent, even if he isn’t well received. We can understand his amazement at their lack of faith and his reluctance to perform any mighty deeds there; they just weren’t open to it. Like the people in the time of Ezekiel, they are hard of heart. I’m afraid many people today are like that, too.
The lessons in today’s readings are very important for us – we who are willing to listen with an open heart. First of all, we need to humbly admit that everything we have and everything that happens to us is a gift from God and part of God’s plan for us – just as Ezekiel, Jesus, and Paul did. We should meditate on this every morning as we begin another day in God’s grace and even throughout the day as God’s plan unfolds for us. And, God often comes in surprising ways – as Jesus did among his neighbors – and we need to open our minds and hearts to his presence. When we do this, great things can happen in our midst. We make God’s presence known to others and bring the peace of his kingdom right in our midst. And, like St. Paul, we will humbly proclaim, “when I am weak, then I am strong – in the Lord!” How blest we are to find our strength in our God!