Respect our thorns — they will drain you or train you…

Homily — 14th Sunday of Ordinary Time — cycle B

Ez 2: 2-5

2 Cor 12: 7-10

Mk 6: 1-6

Understand him or not, Saint Paul is an interesting person and I dare say as human a person as you or I. We tend to look as these icons of our faith and see them as almost super natural and I dare say the way they have written about the saints has only supported this belief. Now, I am not trying to take away from the legacies of our Saints. After all, they teach us through their lives that we too have a chance to be saints through the graces of God.

Here in today’s second reading we see some of the humanity of Paul and he writes about it, not to brag, but to teach and to point a potential path toward our own sainthood.

In the letter we read today we hear of “a thorn in the flesh” of Paul. No one knows what exactly this thorn refers to. No one know what Paul’s affliction was, but it was enough that he ask three times to have it removed.

Many of us, shared or not, have had similar afflictions be it of our own or that of a dear loved one — severe physical illness, depression, anxiety, grief, loneliness, to name a few. We’ve seen how others have faced their pain and maybe even how we have done so as well.

I recently came across a post on Instagram that read, “Pain is certain; suffering is optional.” Another quote that somewhat ties into this is a title of a book I once read — Life Is Change; Growth Is Optional.

There is so much of around us and within us that we could consider thorns. What amazes me is how some people chose to live with this thorn.

Before I go further, I am not telling you or anyone else not to pray for reprieve from said thorn, but rather than wallow in despair look to the rest of our second reading and rest also in the graces of God and maybe find your miracle there.

Many stories can be told. I have my own journeys with emotional and physical thorns. I have a dear friend whose mother has recently learned about a thorn. My own Mother died from hers, a friend recently died from his, and just this morning I anointed a woman that is dying from hers. There are many others who silently struggle with emotional thorns because our culture has put an ominous cast on them. So many thorns.

Now this is not a homily designed to depress you. As I look on these examples they do not depress me. Rather they inspire me because of the way they lived their thorn.

I want to tell you about one person in my life who has lived with his thorn for 20+ years. My brother many years ago was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis/MS. It started with temporary blindness and since then has includes pain of various degrees, dizziness, serious balance issues, fatigue, multiple hospitalizations, and probably other things I never heard about. Most of these things were temporary or at least dicipated. For the past almost two years now he has dealt with an almost constant headache that at times is debilitating. Through all this I don’t believe I have ever heard him pity-party complaining. Rather, more like Saint Paul, he asks for relief but rests in the graces given to him by God. He lives his life to the fullest and signs his correspondence with “accepting a miracle” which I have seen in many ways but not in a cure.

My brother’s story along with the stories of my mom and friend were/are inspirational to me as I have had to face my own thorns. It is not that we are to just give up. No, not at all. We should ask, we should pray, but also rest in the knowledge that “(God’s) grace is sufficient for (us).”

This tells me that God, if we let Him walk with us and hold us, will be there to give us strength when we are weak and when we don’t think we are strong enough God can simply hold us up and/or give us the comfort we need.

When we do this, as St Paul did, we will be living our lives in a way that points to God. We give God credit and lead others to God for it is “in our weakness that we are strong.” When we are on our knees that we stand tallest.

Miracles happen all the time, but not always as we would like to see them. Sometimes it is in the hand that is reached out to us in our time of distress.

So, when those thorns jab you in the side PRAY. Pray that it be taken from you, but if that is not in the cards then pray also for those Graces promised to St Paul (and to us) and then rest. Rest in the assurances of God who loves us so much that he would come down here and take on thorns of his own and elevate all that pain and suffering, through love, to sacrifice.

And as a side note (or maybe just a note), all this is a big reason that we come here (to the celebration of Mass). To lay down our thorns as we are able and to rest in the loving arms of God within a community that is also bringing their own thorns.

We are here as we are able. Let us take advantage of this time to simply abide in God’s graces.

=============

Couple extra notes:

I was told another catchy phrase that pertains to all this with respect to our thorns — they will drain you or train you.

Another important thing to remember as we deal with our own thorns. We can not know what others are dealing with. So, before we start to judge, remember you don’t know the other person’s story. Rather than judge say a prayer for them (and you) that they can abide in God’s graces.