The Thorn in the Flesh (14.B)

 

I have missed so many things, big and small, during the months without a congregation at Sunday Mass.

The biggest thing, of course, was gathering around the altar as a parish. It was especially difficult to celebrate Mass when no one was allowed to come to church.

It was a tremendous consolation to have had a choir throughout those bleak times. Since our choir were all members of the Curalli family, we were blessed to have had beautiful music and at least a miniature congregation.

The Curallis had to do more than sing. They provided the responses as well—without them, no one would have answered “And with your spirit,” which would have been strange.

They had one other job: to laugh at any jokes I dared to make in my homilies. If the joke was good enough, I could count on some audible chuckles from the choir loft.

Still, getting laughs out of five people at the very back of the church wasn’t that satisfying, and I didn’t often attempt a joke or funny story. So, one of things I am looking forward to as we resume    Mass with a full congregation is a bit of laughter.

Which explains why I was a bit disappointed in today’s readings, at least as far as their potential for humour goes. The only joke I found on the internet suggested that St. Paul’s thorn in the flesh was his mother-in-law.  That doesn’t really work for me, since my father loved his mother-in-law.

I did hear about a man who introduced himself to the new pastor after Mass on his first Sunday. He said, “You know how Paul said he had a thorn in the flesh?”  The priest nodded and the man continued, “I’m yours.”

I found that one more scary than funny.

Anyway, for many people Paul’s reference to that thorn in the flesh is no joke. Many of us know that we too have messengers of Satan beating us up and destroying our confidence.

That’s why I thought we might focus on the second reading today, especially since the question “just what was Paul’s thorn in the flesh?” is a very interesting one. Early scholars speculated that it was sexual temptation, but that’s not the mainstream view today. Many argue that he suffered physically, perhaps with headaches or eye problems, and there’s some evidence for that in one of his letters.

But the simplest answer comes straight from Paul’s words in today’s text. He tells us about the thorns that make his life and ministry difficult: weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ.

These thorns are serious hardships that draw blood from Paul. They’re not pinpricks, they’re real wounds. And so are some of the thorns we must deal with—difficult family situations, painful illness, mental and emotional struggles, persistent temptations and failures, addictions, even the pain of sin and historical injustices in our Church.

Most of us could add something personal to that list.

So how do we cope with these painful situations? God’s words to St. Paul show us the way: “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.”

I don’t know about you, but when I face weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities, I want God to put a stop to them. I tend to pray “enough already.”

That’s not the prayer St. Paul suggests. He finds God within his struggles; he experiences the power of God in his weakness; he has learned that grace is enough.

Paul, of course, is not a new disciple, not a beginner in the Christian life. But what he says applies to all of us, wherever we are on the discipleship path. He’s sharing with us what God taught him: that we should not ask God to eliminate our difficulties, but to give us the strength to overcome them.

Paul, in his weakness, comes out victorious—not by his own power, but by God’s. We can, too, if we accept hardship as a pathway to peace.

For many months, our parish has been weakened, denied the strength of gathering to worship together. But we have continued to experience God’s grace in countless ways—and in some respects, we are stronger than ever.

Trusting in the power of Christ dwelling in our hearts and in our community, we will move forward together with gratitude and joy, even as we experience the sadness of recent weeks.

In weakness, we are strong.