Strength In Weakness

2 Corinthians 12:2-10

2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven—whether in

the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows.

3 And I know that this man was caught up into Paradise—whether in the body or out of the body

I do not know, God knows—

4 and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter.

5 On behalf of this man I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except of my

weaknesses.

6 Though if I wish to boast, I shall not be a fool, for I shall be speaking the truth. But I refrain

from it, so that no one may think more of me than he sees in me or hears from me.

7 And to keep me from being too elated by the abundance of revelations, a thorn was given me in

the flesh, a messenger of Satan, to harass me, to keep me from being too elated.

8 Three times I besought the Lord about this, that it should leave me;

9 but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

I will all the more gladly boast of my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions,

and calamities; for when I am weak, then I am strong.

This idea of boasting couldn’t be played out more loudly and boldly than it has been on our

national political stage over the past few years.

Boasting of one’s strengths, be they honestly true or just ingratiating self-perception, and

boasting of the weaknesses seen in others, be they borne of falsehoods or of reality, seems to be

the toast of the political day.

In so many ways we’ve become a very boastful society – there are a seemingly endless array of

awards and ceremonies:

The Emmy’s, The Tony’s, The Oscars, The SuperBowl, The Final Four, The BET Awards, The

Grammys, The Kid’s Choice awards, The People’s Choice Awards, The County Music

Association awards, The Malcom Baldridge National Quality Award, The JD Power and

Associates Automotive Award – There are thousands upon thousands of awards across 37

different categories. A huge spectrum of ways to note our successes. Not mention the broad set

of “talent shows”, The X Factor, The Voice, American Idol and the like - where often what

seems to me to be mediocrity, at best - is lauded and applauded and praised as extraordinary –

anyone see the “singing” dog on America’s Got Talent? A standing ovation… Really?

Has anyone applauded you lately for your daily Herculean tasks at home, at school, at church?

Wouldn’t it be nice to have the occasional loving “thank you” now and then for putting dinner on

the table, for coming home after a 14-hour work day, for doing your homework, for ringing the

bell at the start of the service, for taking the offering…?

Sometimes, those “thank you”s come, I’m sure. But how often do you find yourself standing on

top of the kitchen table or on your work desk, or up on in the bell tower boasting about these

kinds of things? These things you do out of a caring, loving, nurturing heart.

You don’t do them for applause. And yet these are the things we could boast about and be proud.

These things we do to better the lives of those around us. These things that come from our heart.

These things that come from God’s Grace within us.

And yet, those who boast the loudest, a certain national figure comes to mind, tend to boast

mostly about themselves and often about their material and self-serving accomplishments.

In Corinthians we read, “If I wish to boast, I shall not be a fool, for I shall be speaking the truth.

But I refrain from it, so that no one may think more of me than he sees in me or hears from me.”

Be careful not to boast so much about your strengths that you go beyond what they truly are for

you risk surely being seen as a fool. You can rest assure that in the end, your daily actions and

words allow others to clearly see, and discern for themselves, where exactly it is that you

succeed and fail.

Ahhh, yes we also fail. We fail a lot. We see far more failures than successes throughout our

lives. It’s somewhat the nature of things. Corinthians tells us, “a thorn was given me in the flesh,

a messenger of Satan, to harass me, to keep me from being too elated.” God didn’t want our

heads getting to big. God ensured that we would have our initial strengths countered with

weaknesses. Weaknesses that cause us to struggle and strive to overcome them and to ever

improve ourselves and the world around us.

And when we feel overwhelmed, we need only seek God’s grace. As noted in Corinthians, “My

grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Sounds odd and yet it

kinda bears out in our lives.

Ever feel like you just can’t seem to get things right? That things never work out for you? You

took that driver’s license road test and failed. You interviewed for that job but didn’t get it.

Asked someone out on a date and they said no. Tried that new cookie recipe but they were dry,

not very tastey and hard as a rock.

You’re not alone. Even the most successful people have known failure. Failure that, in the end,

made them, and often those around them, all the better for it.

Let’s see if you know who some of them are:

Rejected from the University of Southern California School of Theater, Film and Television

three times. He eventually attended school at another location, only to drop out to become a

director before finishing. Thirty-five years after starting his degree, he returned to school in 2002

to finally complete his work and earn his BA. - Steven Spielberg

He did not speak until he was four and did not read until he was seven, causing his teachers and

parents to think he was mentally handicapped, slow and anti-social. He was expelled from school

and was refused admittance to the Zurich Polytechnic School. Ultimately he won the Nobel Prize

and changed the face of modern physics. – Albert Einstein

She endured a rough and often abusive childhood as well as numerous career setbacks including

being fired from her job as a television reporter because she was “unfit for tv.” She became a TV

and media Icon and one of the richest and most successful women in the world.

- Oprah Winfrey

He was fired by a newspaper editor because, “he lacked imagination and had no good ideas.”

After that, he started a number of businesses that didn’t last too long and ended in bankruptcy

and failure. Eventually he found a recipe for success in films and a new idea called a Theme Park

– Walt Disney
Her drama instructors didn’t feel she could make it, telling her to try another profession. She was

widely regarded as a failed actress and a B movie star. Through the course of her career, she had

thirteen Emmy nominations and four wins, also earning the Lifetime Achievement Award from

the Kennedy Center Honors. She was an extremely successful business woman and kay partner

in a major Hollywood studio and changed the face of Television. – Lucille Ball – I Love Lucy

He dropped out of Harvard and started a failed first business called Traf-O-Data. While this early

idea failed miserably AND didn’t work, his later work created a global software empire – Bill

Gates – Microsoft – which led him to make billions which he now shares with various charities

and needs across the globe

Not too shabby for a bunch of failures and each, I’d argue has made the world a more interesting

and connected and somewhat better place because of their successes.

Successes that ultimately came through the Grace of God.

So, back to our own list of failures:

You took that driver’s test again, passed it and were able to parallel park flawlessly in

Morristown on the green right in front of your favorite restaurant while it was pouring down rain.

The next job interview you went on was for an even better job and you aced the interview based

on what you learned from the one before.

That date you didn’t go on left you at home to answer a call from an old friend that night, a call

that led you to meet someone – that person is now your husband.
The next recipe you tried was for oatmeal scotchies and you learned how to make them chewy,

not dry and now no one can get enough of your “crack” cookies.

Every bump in the road moves you one step closer to a better you. Every weakness bears out a

strength. Every failure leads to learning and growth and renewal. So long as you remember that

God said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” God is

with us every step of the way. God will be our strength in our weakness. Just open your heart,

have faith and feel his Grace within.

Let us pray.

Lord, thank you for sharing the power of your grace. Thank you for helping us find strength in

our weakness. Thank you for knowing just what is sufficient to meet our needs. Grant us the

wisdom to accept it.

In Jesus’ Name we pray.

Amen
Words of Assurance and Pardon

Our God is a loving God and we are forgiven.

Our God is also an expectant God, and expects us to be forgiving.

Jesus knows what’s in our hearts. Jesus knows our every strength. Jesus knows our every

weakness, and loves us still. Awaken to the promise of Christ's amazing grace that breathes

within you. Amen.

Prayer Concerns

Healing

Grieving

Travelers

Joys

Benediction

Lord, Help us to know that we are your children and that we can and will live our lives according

to the example of Jesus Christ. May we truly understand that you are with us each step of the

way as we embrace our weaknesses and learn from our struggles and failures. Help us

understand that your Grace is enough. That your Grace is, in fact, everything. Bless us as we

leave this sanctuary today that we may carry the love of Jesus and the comfort of your Grace out

into the world.

Make your face to shine upon each and everyone of us as we do your will and serve each other in

Your name. AMEN.

Today we’ll be hearing about Jesus sending his disciples out into the world to share his Word.

He gives them some instructions on what to do, where to stay and how to handle people who

seem to be against them and he suggests to them when to know it’s time to leave.

I think an interesting thing to think about here is not the disciples going out into the world, we

hear about that a lot – but more about the people they’re going out to see.

All of what the disciples want to share won’t be heard if no listens. You ever have that?

Today’s gospel talks about how Jesus wasn’t such a big deal in his home town. Many people

there were like, we know you – you’re not so special – you’re just one of us. And they weren’t

ready to hear what he had to say.

Does anyone know what this is?

A doorstop

What’s it used for?

To keep the door open.

And why do we keep the door open?

To let in cool, fresh air…

Just like we keep the door open to let the fresh air in at home…open, stop and listen.

We need to keep our doors and our hearts and our minds open to let in and hear the fresh ideas

Jesus has to share with us.

Let’s pray.