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The inner word

05 Jul 2015 - Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

When I am weak, Saint Paul said, “then I am strong.” Many have taken this apparently contradictory statement to mean that in weakness is strength—that weakness is strength. Paul, however, was not coming up with his own version of a Beatitude—“those who are weak will be strong”! Rather he was pointing out that despite his human weaknesses and what he has suffered, God’s power was still working in him as an apostle of Jesus. Ask yourself, then, how God works through you even with your limitations.

Weakness

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05 Jul 2015 - Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

It may seem odd to make yourself weak to be strong, but it’s good advice in many endeavors, including the game of golf. To change your golf swing in order to make it better is extremely disruptive at first. In fact, this process of breaking down the complex and subtle muscle movement that previously felt so natural can make you a terrible golfer for a while. But anyone who plays seriously must do it to progress. While playing golf, you must intensely concentrate and simultaneously clear your mind. It also requires serene, unshakable faith in yourself; if you don’t believe you can do it, or if you’re simply not feeling it on any given day, you won’t. But even on the tough days, you must maintain belief in your game. With this faith, you can trust yourself to be a weak player, to be almost childlike in relearning how to swing, so that you can become a stronger player than you’ve ever been. In what may well be considered the first recorded lesson for golfers—and a fundamental lesson for Christians on the art of letting go and letting God—Saint Paul says it best: “When I am weak; then I am strong.”

Authors Jennifer Tomshack

Faith Weakness

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20 Oct 2013 - Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C

The woman in the parable was in a difficult situation. As a widow, her portrait would have been next to the word “powerless” in an ancient Near Eastern dictionary. Not only that, she was going up against a figure who did have great power, a judge, who was corrupt as well. Moses was also in a power-challenged situation. Yes, he had with him the staff that had defeated the Egyptians, but now he gets weary, and Aaron and Hur found the man a chair and gave him a hand. Weakness in these stories, though, ends up being strength for those who know that all “help is from the Lord” and first put their faith in God and call on God in prayer.

Authors Joel Schorn

power Weakness

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The inner word

08 Jul 2012 - Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

When I am weak, Saint Paul said, “then I am strong.” Many have taken this apparently contradictory statement to mean that in weakness is strength—that weakness is strength. Paul, however, was not coming up with his own version of a Beatitude—“those who are weak will be strong”! Rather he was pointing out that despite his human weaknesses and what he has suffered, God’s power was still working in him as an apostle of Jesus. Ask yourself, then, how God works through you even with your limitations.

Weakness strength Saint Paul

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Exploring the word

21 Aug 2011 - Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A

OUR GOD IS very much into “forever.” Maybe if you’re an eternal Being you appreciate not having to do things twice. The everlasting and abundant nature of God’s many attributes—goodness, kindness, justice, mercy, truth, power, glory, holiness—ensures that when God does a thing, it stays done. So, too, with God’s word which, once uttered, takes effect and remains in force. Human beings, by contrast, have the tendency to be fickle and partial in what we say and do. Our efforts are rarely more than 90 percent, often more like 50-50. We’re committed to people and ideals up to the point of personal cost; from there it gets dicey which way we’ll go. It’s not that we’re false when we speak. It’s just that we lose our early resolve, or change our minds when the effort becomes greater than we imagined. So promises are revoked; labor becomes halfhearted; marriages fail; holy young priests become cynical older ones. Saint Paul admits to the Romans that mortals just can’t fathom God’s way. God is ageless and deep, and we’re not. Rather than seeing that as cause for despair, the realization inspires Paul to praise. Knowing who God is and who we are—distinguishing divine nature from our human one—makes it all the more astonishing that God chooses to love and forgive us. To which we like Paul must respond: To him be glory forever! Acceptance of our weakness leads to the twin spirits of awe and humility. Denial, meanwhile, will certainly drag us in the direction of arrogance and ruin. We’ll go the way of Shebna, taken down a peg in his mastery of the palace. He’s replaced by Eliakim—who will go the same way by the end of the chapter. We meet Saint Peter today at a crucial crossroads of self-awareness. He’s blurted out the true identity of Jesus, a thing he hardly knew until he said it. Jesus pronounces him blessed for that. The temptation for Peter is to believe he’s smarter than everyone else for having guessed the right answer. The challenge is to embrace the reality that he’s been divinely inspired. Recently I saw a stained-glass window portraying Peter receiving the keys of the Kingdom. Instead of the usual oversize skeleton key he’s traditionally handed in such images, the artist chose to render the presentation unmistakably as car keys. At first you’re tempted to scoff at the anachronism. Then the religious imagination takes over. The Kingdom is not a static idea: not a place to get to, but a path to walk—or perhaps a road to navigate? Once Peter gets the keys, he’s give divine license to drive. For every new driver, it’s a sobering responsibility. Related scripture links Importance of the Twelve: Acts 1:15-26, 2:14, 42-43, 4:33-37, 5:12, 40-42, 6:2-6, 15:2-22, 16:4; Rev. 21:14 Deacon stories: Acts 6:1-7:60, 8:4-40 Leadership in Jerusalem: (Peter) Acts 1-12, Gal. 1:18, 2:6-8, 11-14; (James) Acts 15:13-21; Gal. 1:19, 2:9 Peter's leadership in the Fourth Gospel: John 20:1-10, 21:1-23 The inner circle of three: Mark 5:37, 9:2, 14:33; Matt. 17:1, 26:37; Luke 8:51, 9:28 Peter stories in the Synoptics: Mark 8:27-30, 9:5-6, 10:28, 11:20-25, 14:27-31; Matt. 14:22-33, 17:24-27, 18:21, 19:27-30, 26:31-35; Luke 9:18-21, 18:24- 30, 22:31-34 Catechism links Who we say Jesus is: CCC 153; 422-478; 551-553; 586; 869; 881; 897-913; 1444-1445

Authors Alice Camille

god's attributes Weakness Humility Temptation Peter responsibility

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Exploring the word

05 Jul 2009 - Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account,” Jesus famously taught in his Sermon on the Mount. And he should know, because Jesus faced precisely this kind of treatment at his debut in Nazareth. Folks didn’t simply disapprove of his teaching. They questioned his credentials and even his paternity (being called “the son of Mary” was irregular in a land where your father’s lineage was paramount). In fact, the opposition got rather physical, if you include nearly being hurled off a cliff at the end of the lesson. When we are criticized, rightly or wrongly, it rarely feels like a blessing. Even persecution for righteousness’ sake—a very specific kind of rejection—is not something most of us are anxious to achieve. We want approval, not condemnation. We seek support and encouragement, a pat on the back, and even a reward when possible. As children a cookie would do. Later on the keys to the car said it better. In adulthood we’re usually looking for more cash in the envelope. What we really don’t expect or desire, when we say or do the right thing, is to be defamed for it. Saint Paul can have his angel of Satan to beat him, and if it makes him a more noble character, more power to him. Most of us would prefer to keep that particular monkey off our backs. If I had to wrestle with an angel all night long as Jacob did, I may wind up wiser and better for it. But I’d still opt out of the experience if I could, in exchange for a good night’s rest. Ezekiel was advised at the start of his prophetic ministry that being on God’s payroll is not a popularity contest: It’s the rebellious nation that needs a prophet, not a saintly and compliant crew. Telling the weaktruth, whether professionally or in the bosom of our families, is rarely a thing for which we’ll be thanked. Having admitted all of that, I also must admit that Jesus is absolutely right—as usual. Although no one has questioned my paternity yet, the criticism I do regularly receive from coworkers, friends, family members, and the occasional opposition leader can be a blessing if I am willing to receive it as one. It does remind me, as Paul says, that my weakness reveals the strength of Christ—that such a one as I could do any good at all is a minor miracle! Criticism keeps me humble, provides the opportunity for an examination of conscience (sometimes the negative report is quite accurate), exercises my sense of humor, and reminds me that the good I do isn’t about me; it’s meant to glorify God. Related scripture links Calls to prophesy: Exod. 3:4-14; 1 Sam. 3:1-10; Isa. 6:1-10; Jer.1:4-10; Jon. 1:1-3 Who’s responsible for the message: Ezek. 3:17-21 God’s Word is alive: Heb. 4:12-13 Nothing but Christ crucified: 1 Cor. 2:1-5 Catechism links Omnipotence: CCC 268-274; 1508 Sickness and faith: CCC 1500-1510

Authors Alice Camille

keep humble sermon on the mount son of Mary Weakness strength

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05 Jul 2009 - Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites. While the gospels use “son of man” to refer to the Second Coming, the Passion and Resurrection of Christ, or to Jesus himself, the term in Ezekiel describes the prophet’s human limitations, especially in comparison with God’s power. Despite Ezekiel’s weakness, however, God chooses him to show the exiled Israelites “that a prophet has been among them.” Similarly, Saint Paul talks about his limitations and hardships, but, like Ezekiel, finds God’s presence in the midst of weakness. Even the gospel takes up this theme: The Nazarenes fail to see God in the human Jesus they think they know so well. God can work through human weakness, loving, forgiving, and perfecting it. Perhaps it is even when people are at their weakest, empty of strength, that they see most the transforming power of God. Homily points Jesus could work miracles, but there’s no miracle that gets past the lack of faith. Prophets were called to proclaim the truth, but not to open hardened hearts. Inevitably the toughest gig of any prophet is the home turf. Healing is available for those who surrender their weakness to the will of God.

Authors Joel Schorn

son of man Weakness God's power

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04 Apr 2010 - Solemnity of the Resurrection of the Lord (Easter Sunday), Cycle C

Living in a family is a great way to learn that people’s biggest fault is typically just the flip side of their best virtue. The person who is quick to give, but gives to a fault. Or the one who is honest—but sometimes brutally so. Or even the one who usually has great advice—whether you want it or not. Throughout the gospels Peter showed himself to be brash, impetuous, and quick to put his foot in his mouth. He also proved to be quick to rush toward belief, even if he was stumbling his way there. That’s how he acted on the first Easter morning. Others may have arrived at the empty tomb first, but Peter was the first to enter a place that Jewish law said would make him unclean. He showed what we all need to know, that to really come to believe in the Resurrection, we need to follow Jesus into the tomb. We need to follow his way of the Cross, even if it takes us where we are most afraid to go. And he also teaches us that God can even use our most troubling faults to get us there. So don’t worry so much about your troubling faults; focus on following Jesus. The rest will all work out.

Authors Tom McGrath

family family life Weakness empty tomb Resurrection

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Who's listening?

11 Apr 2010 - Solemnity of the Second Sunday of Easter; Divine Mercy Sunday, Cycle C

A spiritual writer once said, “All problems are psychological, all solutions are spiritual.” In the aftermath of the first Easter, the people of Jerusalem and its surrounding area brought the sick and those disturbed by unclean spirits to the apostles. It’s often our needs that bring us to religion, and that’s not a bad thing. The way of Jesus is the way of total reliance on God. The ones in our congregation who are suffering can show us the way to faith when they turn to God in their need, their weakness, and even in their despair.

needs interdependence Weakness Faith

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The inner word

18 Oct 2009 - Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

Do I believe we can make suffering redemptive? Is it possible to transform our pain into something useful to others, something that will last beyond ourselves? Paul tells the Hebrews that Jesus, the high priest, can sympathize with our weaknesses. Do I have confidence that Jesus really sympathizes with me no matter what difficulty I am experiencing? That I am not alone and without resources? Do I look to Jesus as a source of help when I undergo tests and temptations, knowing he underwent the same and yet continued to remain connected to God’s love? Have Jesus’ words about the first being the last and the last first helped me let go of the natural tendency to measure myself and others in terms of perks and power rather than by the capacity to give freely to others?

Suffering redemption Transformation Weakness strength

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