12:2 I know a person in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up
to the third heaven--whether in the body or out of the body I do not
know; God knows.
12:3 And I know that such a person--whether in the body or out of
the body I do not know; God knows--
12:4 was caught up into Paradise and heard things that are not to be
told, that no mortal is permitted to repeat.
12:5 On behalf of such a one I will boast, but on my own behalf I
will not boast, except of my weaknesses.
12:6 But if I wish to boast, I will not be a fool, for I will be
speaking the truth. But I refrain from it, so that no one may think
better of me than what is seen in me or heard from me,
12:7 even considering the exceptional character of the revelations.
Therefore, to keep me from being too elated, a thorn was given me in
the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me, to keep me from being
too elated.
12:8 Three times I appealed to the Lord about this, that it would
leave me,
12:9 but he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power
is made perfect in weakness." So, I will boast all the more gladly
of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.
12:10 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.
How does this relate to a society where we are taught to "promote
ourselves" in order to obtain jobs and positions?
Mark in Tn.
What a text to preach on the first Sunday in a new congregation! When
I first came to it, I was struck by Paul's BOASTING of his brokenness,
as I had recently suffered the miscarriage of a most wanted pregnancy.
It reminded me of a reflection on the parable of the Prodigal Son by
Henri Nouwen. Nouwen speaks of how Jesus took the bread, blessed it,
broke it and shared it with his disciples. He reminds us that we are
always blessed before we are broken -- which is obviously the case in
this passage. Yet I can't help feeling that the true import is that we
are blessed and we are broken so that we might be shared. After all,
our most powerful witness comes out of the times and places where we
are broken, but sustained by the power of grace. Surely it is in the
"power" of our brokenness that we are most able to reach those whose
lives are completely broken and separated from God. I'm wondering if
there is any tie in to the gospel lesson here.
Pastor Jo
I think a tie-in between the II Corinthians lesson and the Gospel
lesson would be questioning what the world considers to be success.
Jesus is depicted as not "successful" in Nazareth, and he warns the
disciples they may not be successful either in their mission, for they
may have to shake the dust off their shoes and move on. Likewise, Paul
is questioning what the world considers "success" in response to his
critics. The answer is "My grace is sufficient for you." Certainly
something to chew on for 4th of July weekend, when we can also
consider what America believes constitutes "success." -- Mike in
Maryland
Wow! What a Gospel application in both of these texts from Mark and
Corinthians. We don't always see God's kingdom or power at work in
this world, but His promise is always there. In my congregation there
many who seem to be like Paul, just too weak to survive life, people
who feel used up and worthless. But in these texts is the Good News:
God is still using them! They are not used up or useless, though they
may feel otherwise. They may not see with the eyes of this world but
with eyes of faith they can be confident, I say again, CONFIDENT, that
God has not forgotten them nor has He turned His ear from them. In
their weakness they are a powerful instrument of God's grace. To prove
this, I feel any good preacher must take his/her listeners to the
cross of Calvary. There we see man at his weakest. Beaten, stricken
and afflicted. To all eyes, a helpless, weak little lamb, who like a
sheep before it's shearers is silent. Jesus, literally, had a hell of
a day...forsaken by His Father for us. No other human in history went
through what Jesus did that day! Man has never been so weak as Jesus
on the cross! But with eyes of faith we see God's power in that
weakness. God, in Christ's death, won forgiveness, salvation, eternal
life. There with Jesus dying on the cross was the power of God at
work. Everyone else saw only a pathetic looking man, being crucified;
what they didn't see was forgiveness being won, salvation being
earned, and the devil being trampled under foot. Pastor Scott, NYA MN
Pastor Jo - My deepest sympathy on the loss of your unborn child. I'll
keep you in prayer. - My daughter and her husband have experienced
infertility for the last three years, and she has gone through many
ups and downs. She doesn't understand why they haven't been blessed
with a child. She has been given various drugs to help her and
artificial semination. - I agree with you, that out of our brokenness,
healing can occur for others, if we share. I recently participated in
the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life, and helped to lead the
Saturday morning prayer service. I shared how I went from one of the
most wonderful days of hearing I was pregnant with our second child,
to hearing my father would be fortunate to live a year from prostate
cancer. Thankfully, much progress has been made in the last 28 years.
I prayed for either a complete cure for my dad or a peaceful passing.
He received the latter. I found much peace during my times of prayer
in the hospital chapel. I was with my mom years later when she was
diagnosed with colin cancer. The doctors didn't think she'd make it,
but she lived 9 years after her surgery, had quadripal bypass surgery
some years later, and died from a heart attack. We see through a
mirror dimly. My mom's 9 years of cancer survival was a miracle. My
dad died at 58. Some day we'll see face to face, and we'll know all
the answers, but we won't care because we'll be in the presense of
glory. CL in OH
I've read - don't know where - that after a bone is broken and heals,
the broken place becomes the strongest part of the bone. Does anyone
know if this is true? I'm working with the title, "Strong at All the
Weak Points." -Dale in Chattanooga
I have also heard that scar tissue is stronger than original
unblemished flesh and would like to find some medical facts to back
that up. PastorDeb in MA
Dale and Deb that is also true for a weld. Where the metal has been
fused back together it is more strong at the broken place (if the
welder has done the job right. Pastor G
I think it is interesting that Paul is finding a reason for suffering.
As a pastoral care giver, people always seem to need to find their own
reason for the bad thing that has happened. Suffering without meaning
is strictly the pits. Pastor G
To Pastor Jo,
God Bless you in your loss of your pregnancy. I will keep you in my
prayers. I very much appreciate the connection from Nouwen that we are
blessed before we are broken and we are broken in order to be shared.
That is something I will have to truly chew on. Bless you. May God's
grace be more than sufficient for you in this time.
Susan in Wa.
Sometimes it's amazing how things work out. I wasn't preaching last
Sunday so I began working on my sermon for this week last Friday.
Usually I focus on the gospel, but on Friday I was drawn to Paul's
letter and the statement "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is
made perfect in weakness."
Saturday morning I woke up with strong heart palpitations and ended up
spending the weekend in the hospital. It turns out I have a condition
called "Right Ventricular Outflow tract tachycardia." (say THAT tens
times fast :-)) I have to go through a procedure to fix it. In the
meantime I'm on a medication which helps, but doesnt' eliminate my
irregular heart beats. I sit at my computer noting my odd heart
rhythms and try not to be anxious. I usually am an extremely healthy
person and this was entirely unexpected!
I think when we are healthy and life is going along okay, it's easy to
assume we are in control (I certainly did). Sometimes we (read I) need
a weakness to remind us that our lives are by the grace of God.
Ironically, I am stronger now with a heart condition and greater
dependance on God, than I am when I am physically healthy and think
I'm in charge without God.
Rev. Steph in MD
In reading this passage it struck me how real the concept of strength
in weakness really is. I have struggled with lust since boyhood and
have pleaded with the Lord many times to remove this “thorn in the
flesh” from me because I know that it is sinful and that God does not
want it. Yet it has not been removed from me and I suspect that I will
wrestle with this sin all the days of my life (I just hope I don’t
give up on the struggle and end up as a “dirty old man” in the nursing
home). But in the struggle with lust I have disciplined myself for
years on one simple thing: to look at more than the surface, to look
within - because I know that this is what Christ sees and calls us to
see and because I have no choice. I either look deeper within each
individual or I lose the battle and begin to slip down that slope
where I cannot keep myself from sliding. So in my weakness, I have
found the strength of Christ. What is dirty and sinful has been
transformed into a spiritual gift. And that gift is my pastoral heart.
It doesn’t come to me naturally, it comes to me supernaturally because
when I look deep into someone’s being and strive to love them for who
they are, it is not me, but Christ working through me.
Amittai Dominic
Pastor Jo,
You have given us a truly discerning insight. I have always found this
to be a emarkable text, and you have enriched it for me. You will
certainly be in my prayers, as will Pastor Steph in MD (God be with
you in your procedure). My own struggle with diabetes for nearly 25
years has forced me to deal with my ever-present weakness and
infirmity and how that affects my ministry and my whole life as a
Christian. Maybe that's why I love this text. But we ALL are weak
("they are weak, but [God] is strong. . ."), and learning this I think
is a big step toward living in God's strength. Ken in WV
Thanks for all the personal experiences. They help to bring the
"living word" into each of our lives. Several years ago there was a
humorous resume for St. Paul that made the rounds. Without naming the
applicant, it stated all the trials Paul had endured...thorn in the
flesh...Prison term...run out of some towns...short...not a good
speaker...house arrest. Then asked the question, "Would you be
interested in hiring this person as your Pastor?" Does anyone remember
seeing this? I would like to find a copy of it for Sunday. Thanks, Jan
from Ohio
To Jan from Ohio, The job application that you referred to is in the
"Emphasis" magazine as an illustration for this weeks text. It reads
as follows: After an overly critical pulpit committee rejected
numerous candidates, one frustrated member read a letter from another
applicant: "Gentlemen: Understanding your pulpit is vacant, I should
like to apply for the position. I have many qualifications. I've been
a preacher with much success and also some success as a writer. Some
say I'm a good organizert. I've been a leader most places I've been.
I'm over 51 years of age. I have never preached in one place for more
than three years. In some places I have left town after my work has
caused riots and disturbances. I have been in jail three or four
times, but not because of any real wrongdoing. My health is not too
good, though I still get a great deal done. The churches I have
preached in have been small, though located in several large cities.
I've not got along well with religious leaders in towns where I have
preached. In fact, some have threatened me and even attacked me
physically. I am not too good at keeping records and have been known
to forget whom I have baptized. However, if you can use me, I shall do
my best for you." The pulpit committee was aghast, and was ready to
summarily reject the candidate until the man reading the letter said,
"It's signed, The Apostle Paul". Hope this isn't too late. Carolyn in
ME
To Carolyn in ME: Thank you for the help. You are not too late. I'm
still not sure where all of this is leading, but appreciate the help.
I pray that everyone has a safe Fourth of July. Jan from Ohio
All your comments and thoughts are wonderful, and have really helped
me refine and focus on what I am trying to say this Sunday.
Thanks,folks, for all your ideas, thoughts, musings, and questions.
God bless each of you as you bring the message this Sunday!! Jesse
Caldwell, Gastonia, NC
Thanks Amittai Dominic for your personal example. And I like the
resume for Paul. I appreciate being able to check in here. Brent in
Pincher
To Pastor Deb in MA
In answer to you question concerning scar tissue.
It is definitely tougher. In giving close to 30 gallons of blood the
skin in both my arms where the needle is inserted has become scarred
to the point that it has become more difficult with each donation for
the nurse to penetrate.
It is not the medical fact your were looking for but it is a fact of
experience.
God Bless You,
Rev. Chris in AR
Carolyn in ME - YES! Thank you for the resume. I printed it out. While
I'm working on the Gospel passage, it matches perfectly.
Sally
