July 5, 2009 — Fifth Sunday after Pentecost
“Strong When We Are Weak” — Pastor Lassman
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My Fellow Redeemed in Christ,
Our Christian faith is filled with paradoxes. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines a paradox as, “a statement that is seemingly contradictory or opposed to common sense and yet is perhaps true. For example it’s a proven paradox that standing makes a person more tired than walking. Our Lord Jesus often spoke in paradox: “whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it” (ESV, Luke 17: 33); and behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last" (ESV, Luke 13: 30). Well in our text for this morning our Lord Jesus tells the apostle Paul yet another paradox “we are strongest when we are weak.”
I. Now that’s a paradox. How can we be strong when we are weak? Strength and weakness are opposites. And which do we prefer? Well, strength, of course. We human beings don’t like being weak. The way of the world is to be strong. None of us wants to be weak. It is in our human nature to want to be strong, independent and self-sufficient. This is one of the bad things about getting really sick or becoming old---we become weak and dependent...and we don’t like it.
A. And so it is with God. People want to be independent from God. That’s what the Garden of Eden was all about….to be strong and independent of God. We have inherited this same tendency which makes us just a little bit rebellious of all authority and a bit conceited. This is the essence of original sin as Martin Luther once said: “in short, the misery and woe of conceit come from the apple in paradise when Adam and Eve wanted to become gods in the devil’s name. This apple [of conceit] still lies heavy in everyone’s stomach, causes constant belching and will not be digested, for even the true saints still have at least something of the core in them.” In our lesson for this morning we hear that even the great apostle Paul had to struggle with pride and conceit. He was not only as apostle of Jesus Christ but he had actually in some mystical, spiritual, super-natural way had gone to paradise and saw things that cannot be told. Try to top that one. But conceit has many faces: being conceited just means that in some way we feel superior to other people. We can’t get out of elementary school, much less jr and sr high without having some kind of conceit. Perhaps you’ve heard that age old defense of conceit: “I’m not conceited, just convinced.” Yeah, right. Conceit comes from thinking that whatever is good about us is our doing. Conceit can be very subtle, like saying: “I’ve worked hard for what I have.” So, what’s wrong with that statement? Well, in that sentence that word “I” shows up twice
And the word “God” doesn’t show up at all. That’s a bit different from saying “God has blessed me in so many ways.”
B. So, in order to counter this natural tendency toward conceit God will not only allow problems to come, but he might even send some. Why? To remind us that we are not as independent of God and in control of our lives that we think we are. As I said, Paul had every reason to be conceited because of who he was and what he had seen. But God wasn’t going to let that happen…that’s why Paul says: “so to keep me from being too elated…a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me” (v. 7). We don’t really know what this thorn in the flesh was, but we do notice something interesting… and paradoxical: this “thorn in the flesh” was given by God and yet it is called “a messenger of Satan”. We can better understand this paradox when we remember that Satan can do only what God allows him to do. Remember the book of Job? Satan was the one who caused all of Job’s suffering….but God allowed it. And so it was with Paul. Whatever his thorn in the flesh was it was caused by Satan but allowed by God. Why would God allow such a thing? To keep Paul humble and dependent on God. And God treats us the same way. God will allow “thorns” into our lives to remind us that we are not as important, as in control, or as wonderful and better than other people that we sometimes think we are. Can you think of things in your life that could be described as a “thorn in the flesh”?
II. And here is the paradox: God cannot work in our lives unless we are weak and humble. If we want to be in control we simply make God a back-up of player, a second stringer in our lives. And who do you suppose then gets the credit for all the good things we have and do? Why us of course! And this leads to conceit. Paul asked the Lord not once but three times to take this “thorn in the flesh” away. Perhaps we have prayed such prayers too—“Lord, please, please take it away.”
A. And what was the Lord’s answer to Paul’s request? “my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” In other words, “no”. Why not? Because this thorn destroyed Paul’s conceit and made him aware of just how dependent he was on God. That’s grace. God’s power works in our lives only with his grace. Grace is God’s “undeserved favor and kindness.” The key word here is “undeserved”. Sometimes we might think that we have the favor and kindness of God because we are so deserving of it…of course that’s a form of conceit isn’t it? ..and it’s not true… because of our sin. It’s true that we have God’s grace and kindness but only because of Jesus Christ. The cross is the greatest symbol of God’s grace and power…….and yet the cross is a symbol of weakness. And yet the weakness of God on the cross is stronger than all the efforts of the mankind in all times and in all places. Another paradox. For in the death of Jesus Christ God did what we cannot do: defeat sin death and the powers of darkness. And where do we find this forgiveness, life and salvation? In hearing and reading the Bible, remembering the promises of our baptism, and kneeling to receive the body and blood of Christ.---here God’s power is made perfect in weakness. And this grace in Jesus Christ can only be received by those whose conceit has been replaced by humility as both Peter and James say: “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble" (ESV, James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5). And so, God will use “thorns in the flesh” to destroy our conceit and to humble us so that he can work in our lives for his purposes and his glory. He did that in Paul’s life and he does it in our lives. God’s power is in our lives when we depend not upon ourselves but on him…this is grace. God is so powerful that he can actually work for our good in the midst of our problems, our fears, and our weakness. Grace is seeing how God works in our lives when we have run out of answers and solutions, energy and effort.
B. And this leads to one final paradox as Paul says: “I will boast all the more gladly of my weakness, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak then I am strong”. Ah, here is the hard part. Boast about our weaknesses? Be content with our problems? Paul must have been out of his mind. And yet from the harsh realities of life, from his “thorn in the flesh” Paul learned something that we also learn. Paul learned that whatever was good about his life, whatever good that he did in his life, came not from him… but from God. It is a hard lesson to learn because we want to be in control so that we can have all the praise and glory. We hang on to the illusion of self-sufficiency ….until God drives us into a corner, drives us into a dead-end, drops us to our knees so that we have no choice but to give up on our own efforts, no choice but to turn to God and seek his mercy and grace…and even then we might learn that God’s will might be different from our own. How? By not removing our thorn in the flesh…but learning to live with it by the grace and power of God. Why? To teach us the truth that God is always more concerned about our spiritual and eternal life in Jesus Christ than our earthly life on this little planet earth. For the things of this life are temporary, are they not? But the things of Christ are eternal. Our “thorns in the flesh” helps us to remember this basic truth.
Conclusion: “my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” In my office I have a plaque entitled: “footprints” and it illustrates this paradox.
One night a man had a dream, he dreamed
He was walking along the beach with the Lord.
Across the sky flashed scenes from his life.
For each scene he noticed two sets of
Footprints in the sand: one belonging to him
And the other to the Lord.
When the last scene of his life flashed before him he looked back at the
Footprints in the sand. He noticed that many times along the path of his
Life there was only one set of footprints.
He also noticed that this happened at the very lowest and
Saddest times in his life. This really bothered him
And he questions the Lord about it.
Lord, you said that when I followed you, you would walk with me all the way.
But I have noticed the during the most troublesome times of my life,
There is only one set of footprints.
I don’t understand that why when I needed you most you would leave me.
The Lord replied
My precious, precious child
I love you and I would never leave you.
During your times of trial and suffering,
When you see only one set of footprints,
It was then that I carried you.
Paul was able to boast about his thorn in the flesh. Can we? Yes, we can. How can we be so sure? Because God’s grace in Jesus Christ is sufficient for us….God will carry us…for we are strongest when we are weak. That’s the paradox. Amen!
