The Thorn in the Flesh
July 7, 2024
Our second reading for today is taken from St. Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians. Paul has talked about a man (it was actually Paul himself) who was “taken up to the seventh heaven” and received visions and wisdom from God. He has been relaying that wisdom to the Corinthians and the other churches that he has been writing to. He does not specify what teachings of his were received during these visions.
Our passage for today follows that information, and Paul says that God gave him a “thorn in the flesh,” an angel of Satan, to beat him, to keep him from getting too elated and falling into the sin of pride. Paul never identifies what this thorn in the flesh actually was. Some have speculated, considering the story of his conversion, when he fell to the ground, that he may have been having seizures. That would have been humiliating to Paul, especially if it happened while he was preaching, or involved in some other public ministry. In a highly non-scientific age, people believed that seizures were the result of possession. They would have seriously raised questions about who he really was, and where his messages were coming from. Remember, we don’t know this for sure.
Paul says that three times he asked the Lord to take this affliction away. But three times God said to him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” In other words, Paul had been richly blessed by God, but Paul’s suffering would purify him and strengthen those graces.
God has the long game in mind. He desires that we become saints, and He knows that for many of us, that will be a difficult assignment, even for Him. He knows that suffering is absolutely necessary for our sanctification. The great enemy of our growth in holiness is our own ego. Left to its own devices, we become more and more like Adam and Eve, seeking to be our own God. Suffering then, as in Paul’s case, is necessary to protect him from his own sin of Pride.
If we are dealing with suffering that we cannot immediately reduce or eliminate, we must accept it. But we accept it in the name of Jesus. We ask Him to use this suffering in whatever way he sees fit. Or we can offer our sufferings up for others who are suffering as well.
Through suffering we learn perseverance, patience, empathy, surrender to God. It is one of the most important teachers in our lives.
Like St. Paul, sometimes God wants us to realize that His grace for us is enough. For power is made perfect in weakness.
—Fr. Mike Comer
Our second reading for today is taken from St. Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians. Paul has talked about a man (it was actually Paul himself) who was “taken up to the seventh heaven” and received visions and wisdom from God. He has been relaying that wisdom to the Corinthians and the other churches that he has been writing to. He does not specify what teachings of his were received during these visions.
Our passage for today follows that information, and Paul says that God gave him a “thorn in the flesh,” an angel of Satan, to beat him, to keep him from getting too elated and falling into the sin of pride. Paul never identifies what this thorn in the flesh actually was. Some have speculated, considering the story of his conversion, when he fell to the ground, that he may have been having seizures. That would have been humiliating to Paul, especially if it happened while he was preaching, or involved in some other public ministry. In a highly non-scientific age, people believed that seizures were the result of possession. They would have seriously raised questions about who he really was, and where his messages were coming from. Remember, we don’t know this for sure.
Paul says that three times he asked the Lord to take this affliction away. But three times God said to him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” In other words, Paul had been richly blessed by God, but Paul’s suffering would purify him and strengthen those graces.
God has the long game in mind. He desires that we become saints, and He knows that for many of us, that will be a difficult assignment, even for Him. He knows that suffering is absolutely necessary for our sanctification. The great enemy of our growth in holiness is our own ego. Left to its own devices, we become more and more like Adam and Eve, seeking to be our own God. Suffering then, as in Paul’s case, is necessary to protect him from his own sin of Pride.
If we are dealing with suffering that we cannot immediately reduce or eliminate, we must accept it. But we accept it in the name of Jesus. We ask Him to use this suffering in whatever way he sees fit. Or we can offer our sufferings up for others who are suffering as well.
Through suffering we learn perseverance, patience, empathy, surrender to God. It is one of the most important teachers in our lives.
Like St. Paul, sometimes God wants us to realize that His grace for us is enough. For power is made perfect in weakness.
—Fr. Mike Comer
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