Don’t Get Well Soon

One sentence written by St. Paul always has a special affect on me. He is writing to the Corinthians, and from the letter’s context, we know that a certain group of people there have criticized him for his physical weaknesses (probably cataracts or malaria). Since he has not defeated his illnesses, they argue, his prayers lack the skill or the power of a more spiritual man. Paul’s answer to them is remarkable; first he speaks directly to his “thorn in the flesh.” He writes: “Three times I appealed to the Lord about this, that it would leave me, but He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness’” (2 Cor. 12:8-9).

First, he prayed three times and asked concretely for the help he felt he needed. Such practical and realistic prayer is a mark of biblical prayer. Since Paul was not a loner, we who read the New Testament are aware not only of his prayers but of his friends who also pray for and support him—his doctor friend Luke, his young scribe friends like Timothy who help him write his letters because his own eyes are weak. He prayed along with his friends just as he worked along with his friends. But his physical weakness continues to stick around. And in this very weakness Paul experiences the profound moment of grace, discovering that God’s love works in him and is mysteriously even more powerful and more complete amid his weakness than in his strength. I’ve been wondering how this can be true for us today.

First, when we face our weakness, we are set free from the deception that the world needs our spiritual power or skill. Having faced our weaknesses, we can point our neighbors toward the Lord of life, the true source of grace. Not to our strength or our achievements do we point, but to the good news of God’s love at work in our lives.

Secondly, a look at our own weaknesses once and for all clarifies the good news: the Lord Jesus Christ who “though he was rich yet for our sakes he became poor . . .” (2 Cor. 8:9). Jesus Christ himself forever altered our understanding of power and weakness. He came alongside us in our weakness, and that gift of grace is the better gift for Paul than were his bad eyesight cured. It is the truth that Paul learned when he was at his weakest, and we are the richer for it today.