Lesson of the Thorn
2 Corinthians 12: 2-10
We had a wonderful GLBT Pride last week. We had over 100 at our Spirit Wednesday service and cookout, over 230 people in Sunday worship in Loring Park and several people mentioned that they liked the new space better than the beer tent – excuse me, the Holy Spirit tent – that we’ve used in the past. I know that a lot of people put in a lot of hours, sweat and energy to make the weekend a success. Rev. Robyn and I just want you to know how proud we were when we watched us in action – so many chipping in to make things happen, the energy and enthusiasm, the grace you gave to visitors to our worship and booth, the joy in the parade and Praise Team concert. I believe that the larger community got a really good impression of who All God’s Children is last weekend. I know there was a lot of work, hauling, organizing, hauling back and by the end of it all, some of us were really glad Pride only comes once a year, but we want you to know, you did really well this year and it showed. If you took pictures at Pride, please share them with the church office.
Also, if you didn’t see the great story that Lavender magazine published about the AGC marriage trip to Iowa, check it out. The marketing team did a great job getting our message out over the last month.
This week saw the end of the interminable Senate race. I came across this special episode of “Church Chat” from Saturday Night Live that has someone that might be familiar to all of us. [http://www.hulu.com/watch/4151/saturday-night-live-church-chat ]
I’m sure Senator Franken will have lots of Saturday Night Live replays to live through while in office. Isn’t that special!
It has been quite a week and in the process – if we paid close attention – we might have glimpsed the presence of God. C.S. Lewis, in The Great Divorce, says there are two kinds of people: those who say to God, “Thy will be done,” and those to whom God says, “All right, then, have it your way.”
Not everything in life will work out the way we think is best. Sometimes it is through our own fault – sometimes through the fault of another. And sometimes it is just life. If you are going to enjoy the rose you must also be aware of the thorns.
Thorns on plants are an evolutionary development to protect the plant from predators. They are essential to the survival of the plant. If you have ever reached out to pull a rose close to inhale its delicious scent only to find your fingers pricked and bleeding, you know that thorns do their job very well. The problem with thorns is that we have labeled them as “painful, inconvenient and interruptions to our plans.” For the plant, thorns are protection and essential to survival. As long as it is all about me, the thorn is a problem – my problem. Like the Apostle Paul in our reading I could theologize about the evils of the thorn. “They are an instrument of Satan.” I could rant about the morality of thorns. “They cause injury and pain to unsuspecting children.” I could use them to inspire fear. “If there are thorns then the terrorists win.” Or I can learn the lesson of the thorn which is to be aware of grace available even in painful times.
In fact, we as a culture have allegorized thorns as any difficulty that comes our way that causes distress or inconvenience. From our reading we understand that Paul struggled with how to make sense of his “thorn in the flesh.” Although he fell into the common trap of labeling his thorn as an evil instrument, he at least has enough insight to acknowledge that the effect of the “thorn” was helpful to keep him from growing conceited about his own sense of great spiritual achievement. He makes the spiritual mistake that thorns in life come from God to teach us lessons or as an instrument of Satan. The truth is that God is present when we find our soul pierced and needing to know peace. I’m not saying that evil doesn’t exist. I’m just saying that not every thorn we encounter is necessarily evil.
We have no idea what Paul’s thorn was. There has been lots of speculation through the centuries. It doesn’t really matter because the “experience” of the thorn is universal.
Where it was tempting to look at great spiritual achievement and feel boastful, the thorn gave Paul a completely different take on where to find validation and worth. God said to Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you…” Well, that’s easy for you to say. You’re not the one with the thorn! When Paul took the focus off of himself – his pain, his problem, his discomfort – and re-imaged the thorn as an opportunity, he discovered a deeper spiritual truth that had been there all along. It was only then that he could say:
Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Imagine being able to say that about a thorn in your life. That’s a pretty powerful thorn! Notice there was no whine about weakness, insults or hardships. There was no “poor pitiful me,” no “nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen.” There was not even an “Isn’t that special!” Rather Paul now sees these experiences as opportunities for delight. Was Paul exhibiting some sort of sadomasochism? I think Paul was catching a glimmer of the truth that was still formulating in his own experience. God is not the author of problems, persecutions, hardships and difficulties. Instead those very painful and common experiences of human existence are opportune moments to experience all sufficient grace.
This week marks the 500th anniversary of John Calvin. (Here’s a shout out to all my Baptist and Calvinist peeps!) Although there are many things with which I disagree with Calvin, there were some times when he got it right. For Calvin, it was always about grace. We are utterly dependent on the grace of God for everything we have, Calvin said, and everything we are. Every experience in life is an opportunity. The more you and I catch the significance of this kind of opportunity in our own faith journey, the less we will fear the thorn.
Sources:
www.homileticsonline.com, Calvin at 500, July 2009.