| Strength
in Weakness
Fr. George
Smiga
July 5-6, 2003
2
Corinthians 12:7-10 Paul
ends today's second reading with a paradox, a seeming contradiction. He says,
"Whenever I am weak, then I am strong." What does that mean? It seems
to make about as much sense as saying, "Whenever I am sad, then I am happy",
or "Whenever I am short, then I am tall." Yet our inability to understand
Paul is part of his purpose. Because Paul, much like Jesus before him, would often
use a contradiction to seize our attention, and to force us to think more deeply
about something that is important. What
Paul wants us to think about is something that all of us have in our lives: a
combination of both strengths and weaknesses. Paul is convinced that in knowing
Christ, we will approach both our gifts and our shortcomings in a dramatic new
way. Let's start
with the obvious: no one of us is good at everything. Each one of us has certain
gifts, certain relationships in which we excel and other ones in which we struggle.
We are proud of what is strong in our lives, and rightly so, for there are few
things in life as satisfying as knowing that we have a strength that we can use
effectively. We rightly take pride in saying, "I'm a good listener,"
or "I know how to communicate with people," or "I have the ability
of motivating people or making them laugh." We take pride when we can claim
that we have relationships that lift us up, or when we know that we can bake well
or make something beautiful with our hands. Each one of these things is a strength
in our life and it is something that we willingly place before others. Our
weaknesses are different. Our weaknesses tend to embarrass us. It's difficult
for us to say, "I am often impatient," or "I frequently overeat,"
or "I am poor at protecting myself against the demands of others," or
"It's difficult for me to admit I'm wrong." It is not easy to admit,
"Despite my best efforts I can never get along with that person." These
are our weaknesses, and each one of us knows what our weaknesses are. We know
the things that trip us up, and it is difficult to look at them. We want to hide
them. But that
is what is so shocking about Paul's words in today's second reading. Paul says
that he wants to boast in his weaknesses. Now why does Paul want to boast in his
weakness? Because Paul knows that his weakness can lead him to Christ. Our strengths
tend to lead us to ourselves. Our weaknesses lead us to Christ. For when we have
to face something that we are poor at, something that we know it is difficult
or impossible for us to do, it is in that moment that we know that we must turn
and ask help of another. When despite our best efforts we do not improve in certain
areas, and certain things keep tripping us up, those very weaknesses become the
opportunity where we can turn to the Lord and say: "Lord, you need to help
me here, because I'm very poor at this, and it never goes well." Once we
make that request, we must trust and believe that Christ will answer. Now
none of this is magic. When we ask for help it does not mean that suddenly all
of our weaknesses will evaporate, or the people we find difficult will suddenly
become our best friends. People who are difficult in our life tend to remain difficult,
and the weaknesses in our life tend to live on. But when we approach our weaknesses
in faith, instead of depressing us and paralyzing us, they can provide an opportunity
where we let go of the things we cannot handle and hand them over to Christ. Paul
was like us. He looked at his weakness, the "thorn in his flesh," and
he prayed, "Jesus, take this away." Christ's response was, "No.
I'm not going to take it away. But my grace is sufficient for you. Even though
your weaknesses will remain, they will not destroy you because they will provide
an opportunity for my power to become manifest." That
is why Paul could boast in his weakness. His weakness provided the opportunity
for him to trust in a higher power. If we allow our weaknesses to do the same,
then we will be able to say and understand what Paul said and understood: "Whenever
I am weak, then I am strong."
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