My Grace Is Sufficient For You

Prayer:
O loving Father, as we listen to your Word, give us an open mind, a mind ready to receive and to welcome new light of knowledge so that our Christian experience may be a continuing and maturing one through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Sisters and brothers in Christ, suffering, sorrow, heartaches, frustration,disillusionment are consistently present to the human journey. But it would be good to note, as we meditate over the biblical readings we heard today, God’s mysterious way, as he chooses what is ordinary, weak, painful, to make known, his living, loving and liberating presence amongst us.

In his second letter to the Corinthians, St Paul does mention about his own sombre and hard life’s journey, but in verse 10 of chapter 2, he teaches us an important lesson: “for whenever I am weak, then I am strong”.

Friends,these words do stir up my thoughts and I wish to understand what St Paul is writing about?

In chapter 12 we can read about the hardships he had to face as he shared the Good News of our Lord Jesus Christ and how from them he could draw a spirit of encouragement and endurance. These two fundamental aspects of Christian life only emerged in his life when he depended upon the power and grace offered to him by Christ. Because of God’s presence in his hurts, frustrations and sadness, he rose to the occasion despite his weakness.

We can also see this painful situation in the Gospel read to us today when Jesus was rejected by his own people in his hometown. And yet, Jesus showed in a most magnificent way, the way of love, the strength of God in the middle of betrayal, denial and rejection unto calvary.

In the Scriptures, we discover how prophets claimed that whatever be the weakness, pain or thorn they had to carry in their lives, every thorn became the sign of the powerful reality of the presence of God that is continuously transforming our very existence.

One of the most significant examples of the power and presence of the living Christ in times of discouragement and sorrow has been the reference of Paul to his “thorn in the flesh.” Though we cannot clearly identify this great pain which he had to endure, we are aware that Paul did implore God to remove it. God’s answer was not what he expected but it was clear and precise.

“My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness”.

This sentence embodies what lies at the heart of the Christian faith: in the power and presence of the living Christ, we are endowed with God’s grace for the forgiveness of sin, for courage, for peace and assurance that all will be well within the realm of God’s infinite and redeeming love.

I wish here, to quote Kiye Sato Yamamuro, founder of the Salvation Army in Japan: –

“It seems too adventurous, perhaps, but God is able. I have no one, save the Holy Spirit to rely upon. My weak health and lack of ability seem to deny me success, but when I am weak, God is strong. Depending on him alone, I go forward to establish the sanatorium.”

A “thorn in the flesh” can be felt as being rejected by others. Some of us are marginalised because of race, colour or nationality, but when we keep on loving, respecting, forgiving, we can gradually perceive the dynamic presence of God in our rejected condition and win acceptance, love and consideration. A few years ago, we organised an Exhibition on the theme “Colours of the Kites” It expressed the suffering of migrants and refugees in this country but also exalted the love, the consideration of those who relentlessly work for the rehabilitation of human dignity. At this exhibition, a person who was the victim of the harshness of marginalisation and rejection, was able to stand on his feet, used his fingers to write amazing poems which shows that “when I am weak, this is when I am strong”. His name is Ibrahim Dibate, in his book, Yen Fehl, bako ‘ Songs of Struggle and love”. He read some extracts of his poems at that Exhibition at the Anglican Centre in Rome:

May I quote one of them: –

I am afraid when I see and hear the pain of my brothers and sisters, when at four o’clock in the morning, I wake up to look for my illusions. I cry when I see the black man or woman, like me, living in ghettos, without electricity, water, we cry for we are victims of the colour of our skin, but in spite of all, I love you, I forgive and I have given all , let us be good, just and courageous.”

“A thorn in the flesh” can also help us to gain the gift of courage and that of compassion. Friends, nothing makes us gentler, more tender, more kind and understanding of others than personal disappointment and heartache. The depth of learning that comes to us in our suffering and grief is quite revealing as it helps us to reorder our priorities. Ernest Hemingway, the great American novelist, was told by his teachers that he had to “forget about writing ” as he did not have much talent for it. He was not discouraged but continued to believe in his own worth and persevered in his efforts. And, God brought him and other individuals, victims of rejection, the best they could offer to the world.

It is in moments of pain, sorrow that we can assess the value of loved ones and friends, and that of the sustaining power and presence of God even though that God may at times, seem distant and silent. Friends, as St Paul writes to the Corinthians, the experience of God’s power in our weakness brings personal growth, wisdom, deep joy and courage.

We have, as the Gospel teaches us,to learn to discern the grace of God and not to let ourselves be distracted by futile speeches or deceptive acts, which false prophets use. They can lead us, if we are not vigilant, into a spiral of alienation and self pity.

It is therefore important as shown by Christ himself in the gospel narrative, to recall that the joy of life depends not so much on what we do, but on what God does through us as he has the power to protect us, the wisdom to guide us, the mercy to save us and the graciousness to offer happiness that will lie in the depth of our souls.

Sisters and brothers,what God does through us, will always sustain us though that we may at times tread on the pathway of the valley of death. This is beautifully described by the Psalmist in Psalm 23: –

“The Lord is my shepherd,
I shall not want,
Even though I walk through the darkest valley,
I fear no evil,
For you are with me,
Your rod and your staff-
They comfort me.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life.”

Therefore, sisters and brothers in Christ, as the Psalmist exalts the goodness and mercy of God, we also, in the midst of our hardships, are called to be dependent upon and trust our Lord Jesus Christ, as he offers “grace that is sufficient for us, for power is made perfect in weakness.”

Amen.