Independence...Is it all that it's cracked up to be?

Our second reading at Mass today is a little odd to the modern ear: “A thorn in the flesh was given me, an angel of Satan, to beat me, to keep me from being too elated. Three times I begged the Lord about this, that it might leave me, but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses, in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me. Therefore, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and constraints, for the sake of Christ; for when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Cor. 12:7-10)

 If you read the Acts of the Apostles, you’ll learn Saint Paul had a rough life once he was a Christian. A man of growing power, a rising star in the religious/political life of the Jews in Jerusalem, he loses all his prestige and wealth upon his conversion. He goes from being the chief persecutor to becoming persecuted. Temporarily blinded by the presence of Christ, rejected by the Apostles at first, rejected by the Jews who believe in Christ, he heads out to proclaim the Gospel to the Gentiles only to be beaten almost to death, thrown into prison, and actually shipwrecked from a storm. On top of that, his pastoral letters are written to his church-plants because the people had given up the faith, slipped into immorality, listened to false teachers, and fought amongst themselves politically within their new communities. Through it all, some scholars suggest that Saint Paul had ongoing problems with his eyes. Perhaps that was the “thorn in his side”.

 What do we learn from his experience? God said to Saint Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for (my) power is made perfect in (your) weakness.” Elsewhere, Saint Paul writes, “God keeps his promise, and he will not allow you to be tested beyond your power…”(1 Cor. 10:13) In reading of Paul’s story, we learn how God carried him each step of the way. Although he still experienced great suffering, God gave him the grace to persevere through it. Over and over again, Paul writes about his joy, hope, and longing for heaven. 

Often, we think we can do everything ourselves. In the States, we’re brought up with value of independence, that ability for a man or woman to “stand on their own two legs” without help from anyone to conquer the world. We want to believe we are powerful people, capable of accomplishing anything we put our minds to, if we can just get past this present suffering or this present problem. Walt Disney, Bill Gates, and Donald Trump all teach us to follow our passion, follow our dream, work hard, be smart, and we’ll be successful.

But Saint Paul teaches us something else. Real power, power from God, comes when we admit our weakness. It’s not until we confess, “I can’t do this by myself” that we free ourselves from the bondage of trying to possess power. It is only when we admit we are not in control of our lives and give control of our lives over to God that we discover true power, as Saint Paul mentions, "When I am weak, then I am strong.” Instead of combating suffering with our own limited abilities, suffering becomes a means to see God’s grace working in us and to carry us through it. We witness God’s greatness in our weakness.

 In the movie “Caddyshack” a young caddy tries to manage an enormous golf bag, far too large for her size. An older caddy says, “Hey, let me take that,” and her prideful childish reply is, “I can do it!” The scene goes on with her spinning around the bag and unable to lift it off the ground.

 Perhaps God allows difficulties in our lives to bring us to our personal edge; to give us the opportunity to witness his loving power to carry our burden. But do we push his “hand away” like the little caddy and say, “I can do it!”?

Life, Goodness, and Power

Our unwillingness to release our desires into the hands of God demonstrates our doubt in the goodness of the One who is life, goodness, and power.  Our clinging to finite ideas and things is what limits our growth, gives us pain, and steals our freedom and security. It’s not that ideas and things of this world are bad, it’s that we’ve misplaced them.  Thinking they are the source of life, goodness, and power which is reserved for God alone.

We often believe the power to happiness is found in more money, more things, more status, more relationships. What we really do is project power onto these things and relationships and then become unhappy because we do not possess them more fully. Yet, we have the power of happiness within when we can remain in this present moment and accept this moment as a gift from the One who is life, goodness, and power.