Pentecost 7B
July 7, 2024
2 Corinthians 12:2-10
Mark 6:1-13
INTRODUCTION
The first five chapters of Mark have been a sort of, Discipleship: 101 course. We’ve learned what the kingdom of God looks like, we’ve seen the importance of having faith, not fear, we’ve watched Jesus heal people, and cross boundaries to get to them. It’s been a tough course, but a fulfilling one. Today’s part of the story delivers two more lessons: first, a lesson in rejection, as Jesus is rejected by those in his hometown. Second, the disciples are sent out, two-by-two, for a hands-on learning opportunity, an internship of sorts, and to risk rejection themselves. They will get a taste of what it feels like to be in a weaker position, and have to rely on God.
Which makes our epistle a great pairing with this story: this wonderful text from 2 Corinthians about God’s power being made perfect in weakness. In this second letter to the Corinthians (which is probably actually multiple letters put together), Paul addresses his strained relationship with the Corinthian church, which has expressed some doubts about Paul’s sincerity and competence as an apostle. In the part of the letter we hear today, he addresses some specific criticisms, including a weak speaking voice (some have speculated that Paul had a severe stutter – this may be the “thorn in my flesh” that he refers to). In short, Paul says, his weaknesses are precisely what allow God’s power to shine through.
Today’s texts are about humility, about doing hard things and sometimes failing at them, about rejection – and they speak to our constant efforts to avoid having to endure any of these things! As you listen, recall a time when you have stumbled or failed, when things haven’t gone as you hoped and worked for, when you have been rejected, criticized, or wounded, and hear what God’s Word has to say to us in these inevitable moments. Let’s listen.
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Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus. Amen.
I love the 4th of July – parades, burgers, fireworks, patriotic songs, stars and stripes everywhere. But I admit, this year’s 4th of July was tough. It seems no matter where you land on the political spectrum, everyone is concerned about the future of our country for some reason or another. Everyone I have talked to is concerned about the outcome of this November’s election, no matter the results, and there is a not-unfounded fear of violence regardless of the outcome. Furthermore, this week, for the first time in history, a former president of the United States of America will be sentenced, following conviction by a jury of his peers on 34 felony charges – a conviction that said former president is now hoping to have overturned after the US Supreme Court ruled last week that a sitting president is, in fact, above the law and immune from punishment for whatever he deems to be an “official” act as the president. Frankly, it’s all quite terrifying.
There’s more, as you know, and I’m sure we’re worried about some same things, and some different things – our diversity around what is most important is what makes our country and all of our communities both dynamically beautiful and frustratingly difficult. In the end, as a small group of people are seeking more and more power, us regular folks are over here, are feeling more and more powerless.
So I have found myself wondering, studying this week’s texts in the midst of current events, about what a Christian perception of power should look and feel like. It is a natural animal inclination that when we feel threatened, we try to make ourselves look or feel more powerful. Some animals do this by making themselves appear bigger and more threatening than the enemy. Humans do this by talking or even shouting more loudly or twisting their opponent’s words, or accusing the opposing side, or touting our own accomplishments (all making us feel bigger), or even sometimes dressing in ways that make us feel powerful (high heels, a power suit, a bold necktie). We see all this on full display in the political sphere, and we see it in the workplace, and we see it on social media, and in our various communities. Everyone wants to feel powerful, because feeling powerful makes us feel safer in a situation that threatens us physically, emotionally, or ideologically.
But the stories we hear today give us a completely different perspective on power. Most obviously, we see this in the epistle, 2nd Corinthians. As I mentioned before, this letter, or perhaps collection of letters that Paul wrote to the Christian church in Corinth, is largely in response to some concerns that the Corinthians had about Paul’s sincerity and competence as an apostle. Apparently after his first letter to them, their relationship had soured. Paul had written another, strongly worded letter that we unfortunately no longer have, and he regretted it and the remorse stuck with him. The Corinthians were put off by this letter from Paul, which they felt was heavy-handed. Furthermore, they were unimpressed with his skills as an orator. (Paul is suspected, as I mentioned, to have had a severe speech impediment, perhaps a stutter, from childhood – he was a much better writer than public speaker!) Early in this letter, Paul has outlined his many credentials, but now, in what we heard this morning, Paul changes course, to talking about and owning his weaknesses, saying that while he has every good reason to boast, he will only boast in his weaknesses. He goes on to describe a thorn in his flesh that keeps him from being “too elated” – perhaps, too full of himself and his own accomplishments and experiences. And though he has repeatedly asked God to remove this troublesome condition, whatever it is, God’s response has each time been, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect (or complete) in weakness.”
Huh! How counter-cultural is that! How contrary to our human, animal instincts! Can you imagine seeing that principle played out on the political stage? If presidential candidates got up for a debate, and instead of rattling off their accomplishments, they rattled off their weaknesses, being honest with the public about where they know they fall short, where their handicaps are, and where they will call upon others who are more gifted in those areas to pick up that slack, so that we are not led to believe that one person and one person only holds the role of leader, but that it is always a team effort, in which we hold each other accountable, and listen and support and lift each other up? What if a willingness and ability to do that was what we saw and understood as power?
It would never work, of course, at least not at that level. We are too conditioned to see strength as power, to see confidence as power. For someone to say, at that level, that they are relying on the few gifts God gave them, and beyond that they rely completely on God’s grace – would be political suicide. We want someone competent, of course – but maybe even more, we want someone who comes off as strong and powerful, because again, power makes us feel safe and secure.
And yet… Jesus also urges something different from that. In our Gospel reading, Jesus sends his disciples out to bring the gospel to surrounding areas. And does he tell them to wear their best power suit and make sure they have everything they could possibly need to accomplish this task set before them? Nope. Shoes, staff, a single tunic, and your partner. That’s it. No money, no change of clothes, no food, no bag. Beyond that, he sends them with the implied advice: “God’s grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” And sure enough, it works for them – they cast out demons, they heal the sick, they spread the gospel, and they let God’s perfect power carry them through it all. In the disciples’ experience, God’s power is indeed made perfect in their weakness.
Weakness. That is what God calls us to. Not incompetence. But a willingness to not be powerful, to not tout all the wonderful things we have or do, all the ways we are better than others. Instead, to boast in our weakness, our vulnerabilities, our shortcomings, and let God’s light shine through those cracks. Let God’s power be made complete in our weakness.
Of course, God doesn’t call us to anything he wouldn’t do himself. For where do we see weakness more profoundly, than the ultimate moment of weakness: the moment of death on a cross. Everyone expected that the Messiah would come as a military hero, a king for the ages who defeats the oppressor with strength and might. And yet instead, the Messiah comes as a carpenter in a podunk town, who sends out his disciples to do his job, and who finally dies as a common criminal at the hands of that same oppressive government without even putting up a fight. Yet it is that moment of profound weakness, broken and bloody on a cross, that brings about salvation, that brings about life for us all. There, in the weakness of the cross, God’s power is made eternally complete.
I have so many more thoughts on this, even as I continue to grapple with the idea of there being power in weakness. In this political moment, it feels like weakness is the last thing we need – no, we need to stand up for what is right and voice that with strength and power! Yet even as that is my inclination, and speaking what is right and true with strength is indeed necessary, I am also striving to hold close God’s words to Paul – God’s grace is sufficient – in hopes that they will guide the way I engage with people (always seeking God’s gracious light in the cracks); that they will direct the places I seek hope; and that they will, finally, keep my heart, mind, and trust focused on God and God’s power, which flows through us and make possible the impossible, and which does not disappoint us.
Let us pray… God of power, when we are scared, we often turn to our own ways, our own power. Humble us to rely not on our own gifts and inclinations alone, but to put our trust in your power, which is made complete in our weakness. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
View the full sermon and service HERE.
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